The Bird of Darkness
by DeNice
Summary: With the dawning of another Shadowloo movement, fighters from all over race to get to the bottom of strange events that plauge the world. Little do they know how deep the rabbit hole really goes. CH.15 up: Another night is fully alive...
1. SAGA 1: A Bird Takes Flight

Author's note: Welcome, one and all, to the Bird of Darkness. A new story of sorts, this one will follow a rather unique path, yet it'll follow the New Archives storyline. This story is part of a three story trilogy (more details on these stories to be revealed later) and is broken up into "sagas". Each chapter will follow a few "teams" of sorts, and each chapter will NOT have the same characters in them, so don't confuse yourself reading it. Reviews are greatly appreciated since I haven't written in a while, so, without further ado, here's the prologue (Chapter 1). I don't own any of Capcom's, Arika's, or SNK's fighters. I only own the one's that I have in my profile and any new moves I gave existing characters. Also, there are a few characters that were lent to me from other author which are listed below…

MIGGYMIESTA

Tomoko Nakamura

Marcos Oretga

Skye Hawk

Unoka Muir

Chela Castillo

SONY LOVE

Emi Tsuki

Keiko Tsuki

JAMI

Scott Wagner

CHAN

Yui Su'ang

Now, with no further interruptions, let the BOD sagas commence...

**SAGA 1/5: REBIRTH**

_**PROLOGUE: A BIRD TAKES FLIGHT**_

_One shall desire great power through deception and corruption... That person shall go down into the human world and play upon the lives of others, and eventually achieve the power desired... However... this is only a messenger... A pawn in a much bigger scheme... where the players play for much greater stakes... The sake of the world will be signified on the rise of the forgotten... Take heed, for the early apocalypse is approaching..._

_Renevois: 32:40_

**Location Unknown: 10:49 PM**

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes. All components are in the green."

"Excellent. Prepare the body and the remains of his Psycho Power. The final transfer will begin now."

"Understood."

The loud whirling sound of machinery filled the entire lab, totally drowning out the harsh winds from outside the walls. Beyond those 4 walls rested nothing but snow and trees for about 100 miles. The isolation was necessary because if anyone were to come close to the solitary building they could quickly feel uneasiness in their heart. Inside, scientists were hard at work operating the huge contraption that rested in the far end of the room. It held two portals attached to the sides of the central computer, which was being operated by one of the male scientists. As he pressed buttons, the two capsules, which hid their components, started to glow...

"Commence the Psycho transfer in 3... 2... 1... Start operation."

As the operator entered the command to the machine, the man in charge crossed his arm as he made his way over to watch, a sadistic smile on his pretty face. This was the moment the bishounen had been waiting for. The tall, thin and handsome blond rested his blue eyes on the left mechanical capsule as the whole thing whirled louder and started to glow with an eerie purple aura. He could feel it... He could feel the familiar evil presence alive and well...

"Transfer if 45 percent complete," the lead scientist informed him. "Estimated amount of time until completion: 1 minute 15 seconds."

The blond in the Spanish matador outfit widened his grin. "That's wonderful... He, he, he... Just a little more until the revival of Bison..."

As seconds crawled by the evil energy in the capsule grew more potent. Steadily the aura seemed to grow bigger and bigger... and the man's anticipation grew. Things were going according to plan... until the screen the operator worked on turned from green to orange... and the whirling from the machine increased dramatically.

"What is going on here?" the bishounen demanded, his smirk now in a slight scowl.

"Don't worry, Senior Vega," a female scientist responded from behind. "This was expected. Bison's new body's undergoing its new addition..."

"Hmm..."

"He's grown accustomed to this secondary energy numerous times... but this is the first time that he has to actually accept it as his own. This 'new' energy and his Psycho Power will need to be carefully merged in order for the body transfer to be successful. It's all going according to how we planned it."

Vega nodded slightly and now watched carefully. The alarming signals that were present a few seconds ago were dying down and the whirling sound soothed.

"Transfer is now 86 percent complete," the head scientist announced. "It's going a bit faster than we planned... Status report?"

"Heart rate operating and running at normal pace."

"Energy still on the rise... It's far exceeding anything we've planned."

"Vital signs improving and blood flow at maximum efficiency."

"Splendid..."

The purple aura seemed to engulf the entire room in its afterglow, every now and then flickering in a red flash. Vega and the rest of the conductors just looked on in awe as the operation concluded.

95 percent...

96 percent...

97 percent...

98 percent...

99 percent...

Then the whirling came to a halt and the glow from the machine died down. There was a universal silence that claimed the room as everyone stared at the central computer's message...

TRANSFER COMPLETE

The time had finally come... The active capsule opened on its own slowly... Vega expected to see a man's sleek, masculine & powerful body to be the vessel for Bison's soul after all that extensive operations that spanned over a good 2 years. However, as the body was more visually displayed, much to Vega's surprise, what he saw was a much more slender body. It sported more... curves than a man's body... and upon the full opening of the cocoon, Vega's eyes widened in complete shock.

"Huh?? What the--??" he gasped, staring straight at the person inside. The features were surprising: slim, moderate height, low muscle tone, long brown hair... and ultimately, Vega was staring at a rather attractive, half naked woman, covered by red militia pants that loosely resembled Bison's and a normal t-shirt. Stunned, Vega stuttered his sentence out.

"W... What... What in the--?"

"Vega..."

That same man gasped a tiny bit at the new, somewhat soft voice that came from the woman inside the drive. Vega slowly looked into her closed eyes as she started to stir. Her eyelids fluttered a bit... then shot open wide, clearly exposing the completely red eyes that hid behind them. Everyone else in the room just looked on as this new being calmly emerged from the pool, her focus only on Vega. The Spaniard, somewhat sensing something, kept his ground, letting the brunette approach him face-to-face, even though she was a good few inches shorter than he was.

"What's the matter?" she asked, her voice now a bit more solid and firm. "You seem surprised to see me. Is age dulling your senses?"

"Errrr..." Vega mumbled under his breath. He had a strong hunch that was under the confines of this woman's skin... Also, he didn't exactly like the fact that if this woman WASN'T Bison that she was going off on his age... Then again, that wasn't the case. "Lord... Bison...?"

On cue the woman blinked, only this time her eyes went to a normal white color with a brown iris. Surprisingly, she only smirked at Vega's clueless-ness.

"Vega... don't refer to me as Bison from this point on. I've changed. Went under a metamorphosis, so you might say... 'Bison' is a thing of the past. Shadowloo has a new leader... Her name... is Raven. Get familiar with it, ok, my dear boy?"

After a bit of a pause Vega responded. "Ok, Si—er—madam," he corrected himself, his face twisting noticeably when the "Si" came out. Raven's surprisingly cute yet disturbing smirk grew at that as she continued.

"I believe I might owe you some type of explanation for my... appearance, don't I, Vega, my boy?"

"Mademoiselle Raven... you never owed me such a thing before."

"Correction," Raven quickly responded, putting a finger up to Vega's mouth, "_Bison_ never owed you such a thing. However, believe it or not, I have a greater sense of logic, so believe me; you might want to hear this..."

Before Vega could even respond to that Raven cut him off.

"Don't lie to me, Vega. You know just as well as I do that you want to know why I chose the body of a woman for my latest vessel."

"...yes..."

Raven lowered her eyebrows a bit. "I thought so... Come with me while I find something a bit more suitable to wear for someone of my stature..."

Wordlessly obeying, Vega followed the woman out of the lab and down the red corridor. The walls were tattooed with the Shadowloo logo, the skull with wings as the duo passed other scientists and corporate criminals that were busy at their jobs. No one seemed to notice or mind the fact that Vega was walking with a virtually inappropriately dressed woman... Odd.

"As you might have known, you being the temporary holder of Shadowloo's operations over the past couple of years," Raven started while turning at an intersection and down another hall, this one with wide windows to showcase the white world of snow, sky and wilderness outside, "for about the past decade or so Shadowloo has been running into numerous bugs in its operations. These... 'pests' are harder to squish than I thought. My... absence over the last 3 years really hurt our organization, since it gave those bastards from Interpol time to recuperate and seek out a majority of our bases. It's about time Shadowloo got back on track. Time Shadowloo achieves its long anticipated goal on world domination... but in order for that to happen, Shadowloo needs to undergo a change, and for that to happen, the leader of Shadowloo needs to under a change."

"I see, madam..." Vega replied as the reincarnation of Bison passed a relatively large water cooler. Rather swiftly, Raven grabbed a cup from the dispenser and held it behind her to her subordinate.

"Drink?" she asked, surprisingly sweetly. Once again startled, the Spanish matador slightly hesitated before taking the cup and getting his drink from the cooler.

"Thank you, madam," he said somewhat cautiously, taking a sip from the cup in his hand. Raven nodded and the two started walking again.

"Yeah... well... where was I...? Oh, yes. So, the leader of Shadowloo needed to go about a change. I had tried to do this a good 15 years ago with that man... Ryu... That didn't go according to plan. Second was to steal the vigor from the youth to power up my existing body. This resulted in the capture of three little brats, the oldest one managing to destroy my first body."

At that moment Raven's face showed its first sign of distaste and spat to her side.

"To think... Bison losing to a schoolgirl... How absurd..."

At this time Raven stopped, shook her head to clear her thoughts, and continued on with what she was saying.

"Anyway, during my recovery Interpol somehow got a lead to one of our bases and from there operation went downhill all over the globe. However, ever since then Shadowloo scientists developed a plan more efficient than stealing youthful vigor. If somehow I could harness a small sample of the intent that destroyed me because of that girl, Satsu no Hadou, and manipulate it with Psycho Power, I could become the strongest being on this mangy planet. Shortly after my first incident and during my recuperation period I luckily received reports of the master of Satsu no Hadou was emerging. I planned to recuperate and handle this business myself but I didn't need to. The same schoolgirl and her friend destroyed him for me. My investigation team managed to secure a large portion of his remaining evil energy to undergo extensive tests..."

At this moment Raven stopped in front of a relatively larger door than the rest on the current corridor which she and Vega walked. At this moment the woman spun around to face Vega, and he could clearly see the serious tone in her face that closely resembled the face Bison would make, despite the face she was too pretty to actually complete that same message.

"Behind this door..." she said in a low tone, "is just one of our major projects just recently finished. I can tell because one of the earlier transfers informed me on current events. This is big news indeed... Come."

Raven then pushed the door open and the two went in. The room was rather dim in light... however, this was made up by the fact that two huge body containment capsules were right in front of the door to the small room. Inside one of them was a man in a purple karate gi, crimson red hair standing on end and tied up in the middle. His body on the outside looked normal... despite his abnormally dark skinned tone and the evil blood red aura that surrounded him. Beside him was another man, this one a bit taller than the first. This one had insanely long white hair that rode down his back in a ponytail, scars all over his body and one especially over his right eye. He, too, was in a martial arts gi, however the top was ripped off. He also was surrounded by an evil aura... and both were hooked up to what seemed to be a vital recording system.

Vega's eyes hardened. He knew who these two were. They were two of the most dangerous Street Fighters to ever grace the earth. If they were awake, their glowing red eyes would've pierced fear into any person's heart... However, Raven just looked on at them as if it was ordinary.

"I'm sure you're aware of whom these two are..." she said.

"Yes... Akuma, Master of the art of Ansatsuken Karate and Kairi... who somehow managed to manipulate evil energy and become a walking demon. Truly fearsome enemies... However..."

Vega trailed off at that point. Something inside him started to savor the sight of blood... Was it because he was aware of all the homicide these two caused among those who bared fists as weapons. Blood to them was a satisfaction... especially from a worthy opponent.

"However they suffered the same humiliating defeat as Bison did," Raven noted, her brown eyes hardening. "They lost to those two love brats... Apparently they have a lot more potential than before... However, we've managed to... how do you say... 'upgrade' these two so that not even Ryu himself can take them down... which brings me to my next segment. Come."

Walking away from the room, Raven led Vega to a nearby room. On the way she continued speaking.

"Now, I believe I wasn't quite finished explaining myself and this body. Well... we've managed to embody 'sample' Satsu no Hadou into ordinary people and test subjects. Not the real deal, but a rough simulation. I was pleased to find out that the experiments went extremely well. Even one girl in particular went the extra mile and practically mimicked the actual effects of Satsu no Hadou to the smallest detail. The real test now came up. After numerous times of trying to absorb Akuma's potent energy and failing, we found the flaw..."

Raven then used her hands to showcase her sleek yet very dangerous body to Vega.

"A body was needed that could harness both energies... Psycho Power & Satsu no Hadou all rolled into one. Hence this woman's body... and the birth of Seishin'ijousha Hadou..."

"... 'Psychotic Surge'..." Vega interpreted.

"Yes," Raven replied, her eyes starting to lightly glow in a reddish tint as they reached their destination. "The most powerful source of energy on this planet... and only I can use it. With this power I literally wield the weight of the world at my fingertips. The sweet thing is that once I absorbed Akuma's energy, I've learned new techniques... New abilities... and all the things that'll make me untouchable this time around. That African kid destroying my rushed second body was the best thing that could've happened to me... and since I no longer need to be dependant on the Psycho Drive to survive... Him destroying that was also just a waste of energy. However... the secondary Drives I had stored could serve some purpose..."

As an evil smirk spread across Raven's lips, they went into another room, this time littered with computers and operators. In this room all who were in stopped what they were doing and saluted both Raven and Vega. Raven gestured them to return to their work, then headed to the noticeably bigger computer near the back. She simple pressed only 2 buttons... and the profiles of several people showed up on the screen. Vega took a look and read the names out loud.

"Kasugano, Sakura... Markis, Darrell..."

At this time Raven interrupted.

"You notice the red frame around their portraits? That means these two need to be taken care of. They're top priority, since they always find ways to leave a scar in Shadowloo. If anything, their capture is something I'll prefer over killing them outright."

"Hmm..." Vega murmured as he read on. "Miadama, Kaoru... She looks... familiar..."

"Yes. I remember this girl very well... You remember that girl I told you about in the Satsu no Hadou experiments? This is the one. Shadowloo had been keeping tabs on her for a long while, but now she's getting too obvious of the truth. She needs to be taken care of as well. If she remembers what her real past is, she'll become very dangerous, especially since she no longer considers herself a curse. Also top priority.

"Hmm... not too shabby looking either..." the matador smirked evilly, suddenly getting the urge of bloodshed again... "I wonder how she'd look covered in her own blood..."

"You'll see soon enough, Vega, my boy..." Raven reassured. "You finished reading yet?"

"Not yet, madam..." he answered. "Hmm... Ryu... Obvious."

"After his appearance in the Street Fighter 4 tournament, it's obvious that somehow he's gotten too strong for our tastes. He's always been top priority, but now he's a bigger threat if he ever finds out about our operations..."

Vega murmured before going on. "Kusanagi, Kyo... Yagami, Iori... Again, obvious."

Raven smirked. "However, their reason on Shadowloo's hit list isn't quite obvious. You'll soon see..."

"...these three... in the yellow..."

"Yes... Meji, Saya and Kai Hashimoto. I've had my eye on these siblings for a while... Although they're of moderate priority, if we can get them to operate for us, their use can be... amusing... They seem to be a bit... easy to provoke anyway. Why not use it?"

"Fine..." Vega then wordlessly went down the list, looking at various other wanted people... then near the bottom his eyes widened. He ran across a name that he was quite familiar with..."

"White, Cammy..." he said, his voice noticeable lower in volume. He then looked at Raven and asked, "Mademoiselle?"

"What is it, Vega?" she asked, her voice slightly annoyed.

"Forgive me for asking this... but what is the reason for Cammy, our old super soldier, being on this list?"

Raven calmly turned to Vega and pointed a finger at him. A bit puzzled, Vega just stared at her as she slowly waved it naughtily.

"Now, now... You'll find out soon enough."

Although outside Vega didn't honestly reply to that, inside he grew a bit concerned...

_Raven must have some plans in store for her... but why? Last time I checked Bison was finished with the doll project..._

"Madam..." he asked calmly, "If you won't mind... I'd like to personally take one of those assignments."

"hmmm... You know, Vega, you've seemed to have changed quite a bit since I've last seen you... Has being the temporary leader of Shadowloo changed you from that homicidal maniac I once knew?"

Vega immediately scoffed. "Of course not..."

Raven then turned her attention to her #1 henchman and eyed him intensively, which still looked rather odd since she wasn't wearing anything of real Shadowloo authority on her cute body.

"Well, then," she grinned, "let's see if you can show that you still have that quality. That... thing about you that makes you Vega... You know that young woman you were so fond of a few minutes ago?"

At the completion of the sentence a male filer approached and handed Vega a pamphlet, but not before paying his respects. Before the Spaniard could look at it Raven grabbed his attention.

"All you need to know is right there in that envelope... You know what to do..."

"Yes..."

"You make me proud, eh?"

Vega glanced at the envelope in his hands a bit longer... then paid his respects towards the new leader of Shadowloo before taking he leave. However he couldn't help but think... Things are a bit different this time around... However... thing _will _be even more different later... At that thought he grinned evilly, the old, psychotic side of him emerging once again.

_Yes... Really different... but for now... I have a beauty waiting to be sliced..._


	2. The Plans Are Unfolding

_**CHAPTER 2: THE PLANS ARE UNFOLDING**_

_Side note Lee Chaolin and Combot belong to Namco._

**Southtown, USA: 4:15 P.M.**

If anyone didn't recognize the man in the white karate gi, long headband, short, dark brown hair, and white duffel bag that rested on his shoulder by now, they must have been living under a rock for the past 2 decades. Although he was a bit out of place in this rather robust urban city, full of rustle and bustle, wearing what he had on, it wouldn't make a difference in a few minutes considering where he was going. This city, called Southtown, was like another New York City considering the fact that it was so huge it needed to be broken up into different sectors. Like New York has Chinatown, Southtown had the Eastbound, or their version of a mini-far East; Japan, China, Indonesia, and Korea all rolled into one. As this experienced martial artist walked down the hill of the narrow street, bordered by mixtures of buildings and houses near the heart of the Eastbound, he could steadily see his destination ahead of him.

It was a martial arts dojo, located on the corner of the street which he walked on. As he stopped in front of the first large window of the dojo, he put his white duffel bag down and opened it. After rummaging through his few yet very valuable belongings, he took out a sheet of paper; an invite of sorts.

"Mmm... Tae Kwon Do for the Ages," he read the directions out loud. "72 South 3rd Street... Lead instructor: Kim Kaphawn. "He put the paper back in his bag and stood up "This is the place."

"Yes, it is, and I'd like to be the first to welcome you to it."

The voice belonged to another man, roughly the same height as the first, wearing a Tae Kwon Do uniform himself. He sported brown hair that shined in the afternoon sunlight, sparkling brown eyes, and a smile that didn't need sunlight to shine. The initial martial artist smirked and then walked up towards the door where the second stood.

"Kim Kaphawn, I presume," he said while extending his hand for a shake. "The world's #1 Tae Kwon Do fighter and the sole symbol of justice. It's an honor."

"No, the honor is _mine_, Ryu," Kim reassured, completing the handshake firmly. "The legendary Street Fighter himself. User of the ancient Ansatsuken style. I'm surprised you came as early as this. I sent that invite a week ago. I never thought you'd get to see it considering that you're always on the move, let along make it here."

"Well, I have my ways," Ryu answered back, pulling away from Kim's hand and hoisting his bag onto his shoulder again. "Well, then... how about we get to business. There's some things I think we need to discuss."

Kim nodded. "Indeed, but you know what comes first."

"Yeah..."

"Let me get the rest of my students out here. We can exhibition in the plaza right here. Come."

And with that Kim stepped inside his dojo, Ryu closely behind. For the first time the lone warrior got to see the insides of the dojo. It was how he expected it to be like; full of the friendly yet competitive atmosphere of the young and elder sparring each other or helping lower class fighters to gain experience. There were a few small spars being conducted in random areas of the gym, but the main attraction was a class being held near the middle. A young man in a green striped gi and dark-blueish hair was leading that class by practicing kanta drills with the lower classes, breaking it down step by step by himself as they watched. He resembled Kim a bit in a number of ways, from his rock-hard determination to the sparkling smile he wore as he enjoyed his role. As the two men stopped right next to him, letting him finish his current procedure, the young man did just that.

"...and _hah!_ 27th position," he called, stomping his foot down while facing Kim and Ryu and going into a striking position. Everyone could plainly see the flames that erupted from under his foot and they certainly felt the floor shake with authority. The instructor's eyes, which were down towards the floor, relocated to see Kim's face, causing him to stand straight up.

"Dad?" he asked.

"You know, you're becoming better and better at this every day," Kim congratulated with a warm smile, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I wish your brother could put as much effort into this as you do, but... oh! Ryu, this is Jae Hoon, my youngest of two. Just as hardworking a his old man, huh?"

"Yes, he is," Ryu acknowledged, shaking Kim's son's hand. "How long had he been in martial arts?"

"About... from the time he was 7," Kim said, "and he's been open-minded about the whole concept. He works just like a true, dedicated fighter should. It's going to get him far in the circuit..." After a pause, Kim remembered a vital piece of information. "Ryu, have you heard of the news concerning the circuit as of late?"

"Of course. The Street Fighter and King of Fighters circuits are merging again... This time permanent. It proves that things are best viewed as a whole, I see... It should be interesting. A lot of young talent is sprouting up all over the place as well."

"You can say that again. I caught the complete coverage of the Street Fighter 4 tournament 3 years ago. It was quite refreshing." Kim then gave Ryu a smirk. "Especially the person who actually _won _that tournament..."

Ryu immediately recalled the final battle... The battle that practically demolished a good chunk of the Tokyo Dome where it was hosted at. Never before had he seen a battle with so much magnitude since he faced off with Akuma a good decade ago... or Gill 4 years ago. The surprising thing was who actually took place within the final bout. One was that devil fighter, Kairi... The other was the grown-up school girl who used to look up to him as an idol years ago; the girl that once asked him to be her sensei...

"It isn't exactly ironic..." Ryu responded. "The last time I talked to Sakura when she was young I told her that she would grow up to be a great fighter... although... I will admit that battle was rather epic. However the better fighter won, and that just happened to be her since Kairi was mad in his power near the conclusion of it. All I'm wondering is how she will fare with the horizon spreading out as it is now... She's the current Street Fighter champion and Terry Bogard is the current King of Fighters. The way I see it, there can only be one undisputed champion in the world."

"Right," Kim agreed, "and although the circuit doesn't start again for another 7 months or so, I already received a notice showing who's already joining in." Kim paused for a bit... then looked at Jae Hoon. "Son, can you get the flyer?"

"Sure, dad," Jae Hoon answered, quickly running off to find the notice. Both remaining fighters waited, listening to the class's low, random chatter to their left. After a while, Jae Hoon returned with a flyer, handing it over to his father, who, in turn, showed it to Ryu.

"See?" he said, pointing out the combatants already participating in the as-of-now unnamed circuit. "Terry Bogard, Kyo Kusanagi, Joe Higashi, Rock Howard, Ken Masters, Mel Masters, Yun, Yang, and Yin Lee, Makoto, Allen Shnider, Ryu and Yuri Sakazaki, Robert Garcia, Iori Yagami, Dan Hibiki, Athena Asamiya, Sie Kenshou, Hinata Wakaba, Hugo, Roy Bromwell, Tiffany Rose, Edmond Honda, Gan, Guy, Maki, Mai Shiranui, King, Batsu Ichimonji, Elena, Ibuki, Karin Kanzuki, Tizoc, Zangief, Alex, Dudley, and a heck of a lot more to come. I expect Sakura to definitely enter as well if she can make time considering her line of work. She always does, you know. Her husband has it worse, but knowing how good he's been pulling that new software company, he shouldn't have any problems... Now that I think about it, I expect a lot of new talent to show up. You seen the exhibition fights?"

Ryu nodded. "A bunch. I have my eyes on almost everyone. This is surely going to be one to attend. I heard this is another combination of the Master Foundation and the Garcia Comp, isn't it?"

"It is."

"I expected Ken to do something like this again... Now, then... how about we see how we are coming along. We can talk later tonight."

Kim smiled. "I was waiting for you to say something like that. Jae Hoon? Assemble everyone. We're going to have us an exhibition spar outside."

**Shanghai, China: 9:31 A.M.**

"Please show your identification card... not like you need it, Ms. Xiang."

The Chinese Interpol officer smiled as she reached into her polo shirt and flashed her I.D. card to the security guard at the front door. Once she got confirmation, Chun-Li stepped inside the revamped innards of the main Interpol base. The building itself was brand-new; built up from scratch since the old base was blown up by a surprise Shadowloo attack 3 years ago. However, that wasn't going to happen again for two reasons. Once, the building was now twice as secure as before, down to the sensors that can detect anything suspicious within a 10 mile radius of the base and two, Shadowloo, the main threat to peace and tranquility in the world, was destroyed once and for all. She even saw the man in charge of all that suffering die right in front of her very eyes. That was enough reassurance to her after what he did to her father so many years ago...

However soon she might just put it all away and behind her. In two weeks she was going to retire her position and settle down for a nice, quiet life. It was about that time, anyway. She committed a lot of her life to serve a long run for Interpol and now it was all going to pay off. Chun-Li even had some activities planned once she retired: a nice cruise... find a new place to live... and maybe even enter the new martial arts circuit again for old time's sake... Until then, thought, she still needed to do some business.

From the front lobby, Chun-Li went right slightly and approached a set of elevators. She pressed the Up button and patiently waited, brushing off her blue jeans. A sew moments later the elevator in front of her opened up.

"Good morning," the guy who was on it greeted while coming out, going his own way. Chun-Li nodded in response and then stepped inside, letting the doors close behind her. Pressing the number 3, she then ran her hands through her long brown hair, which wasn't hidden by the usual buns that she normally wore, her tongue slightly slipping through the side of her mouth as she did so. She stopped when the elevator slowed to a stop and opened up, exposing several other people who were waiting to board.

"Excuse me," the officer said as she moved past them and down the hallway. It was somewhat narrow since it was a catwalk connecting the first building to a second that lie behind it, but even from only the third floor of a 35 story building, the view of Shanghai through the large windows was outstanding. Chun-Li took notice and sighed. She was going to miss that view is she doesn't visit every now and then...

The windows soon gave way to doors and Chun-Li kept going, now searching for her office. The sound of business went thought the air as she went deeper in the hallway, her eyes locked on the glass wall at the end of the hall.

_Here we go again..._ she told herself as she slipped inside the open doorway, the door marked "Criminal Investigations Ward." The office was pretty noisy in it own right, considering the sound of electronics flaring and people conducting business on the phone and with each other. The woman who sat at the first desk was on the phone, but that didn't stop her from waving at Chun-LI, who smiled back while passing her. The moment she started to head to her position, a voice rang out.

"Agent Xiang? Good morning."

It came from her left, where a short-haired man in a nice black suit was sitting at his desk, facing her. Unlike a majority of the people on this floor who were of Asian ethnicity, this man was American born, about ½ inch shorter than Chun, but just as good looking.

"Morning, Ace," Chun-Li said brightly. "How're things this morning?"

"Things are good, Ms. Xiang. Just wrapping up our latest report on the thugs we busted 3 days ago. You?"

"Well, _I _thought that I was going to wrap up that report, but its nice to see you looking out on time. Maybe we can get a few more assignments to do together before the end of next week."

"Aww... Yes. That's right. You're retiring next Friday. I'll be the first to say this, so I'll say it now. You enjoy yourself in retirement. We're going to miss your efforts."

Chun-Li's face brightened more. "Thanks, Ace. I can trust you can handle things while I'm gone, so I can rest easy. Besides, if anything big happens while I'm out, I'll come to assist, ne?"

"That's fine by me... Let's just hope something like that doesn't happen."

"Yeah. Let's. So, Ace, you need any help with that report?"

Ace shook his head. "No. I'm doing just dine. Why don't you get situated and when I finish we see if there is any open cases we can take."

"That you two don't need to worry about. I've got a case that's so big it's shocking..."

Both Ace and Chun-Li turned to see another well dressed officer, wearing gray all over, and... by the looks of his face, worried beyond belief.

"What is it, Ti?" Chun-Li asked. "You really do look spooked."

"Yeah, well... its really like some sort of Ghostly problem," Ti reassured. "Xiang. Willows. Come with me."

Wordlessly, Ace stood up and followed Ti along with his partner, moving towards the back of the office. Ti slipped into the last door at the back of the office and into a smaller room, heading towards his desk. As Chun-Li and Ace came in he instructed, "Close that door and lock it."

"Sure, sir," Ace responded and did so, the blinds shaking a bit as the door closed with a slight bang.

"Kill the lights and have a seat."

Ace did that as well so that only light that was in the room came from the computer that was on Ti's desk. A few moment's later, a projection shot onto the wall behind Ti, showcasing some guys receiving illegal drugs from some dealers on the streets.

"This photo was taken by a patrol officer 2 days ago just before a bust," Ti started. "At first it seemed as if it was just some small-time deal, but look closely at the dealer..."

On cue the picture zoomed in on the dealer, growing a bit pixilated as it only showed the dealer. Chun-Li squinted her eyes, trying to see anything suspicious... then twisted her mouth.

"I'm... not following you, sir," she admitted.

"That's ok, Xiang. I didn't get it either... Now look at his shirt... at 4 times magnification."

The pic zoomed again, showing his upper chest very closely... and Chun-Li detected some sort of metal object lodged in the fabric of his shirt.

"What is that?" she asked. "It looks like..."

"...a detector. The moment we took the guy into custody it shut off. We suspect that it lead back to the guy pulling the strings and he doesn't want us to trace him back. The device is now undergoing analysis but so far there's no identification on it or any leads that say where it came from. Now... Here's where things turn ugly."

The picture changed completely, this time showing a woman sprawled out on the ground. The weird thing was that she was surrounded by a faint black aura and blood was all over her hands and body... and her eyes were open... Completely red.

"What the...?" the woman officer let out, growing a bit wide-eyed.

"This photo was taken at a homicide investigation where we found this woman, the murderer. Luckily we had patrols in the area and also lucky that her child wasn't home. She killed her neighbors and husbands with her bare hands. Witnesses say that she used some sort of martial art while doing so..."

"But how is that possible?" Ace asked. "It's clear that she has no warrior's experience at all. The only for of tone I can make out is aerobics."

Ti's eyes hardened. "Exactly. This was a normal housewife that somehow got caught under the influence. At first we were completely stumped on how this managed to happen... until we ran blood tests. There was a drug found in her system... and that drug was present was the exact same type as that that we analyzed from the hit in the last picture."

"...so... this is linked..." Chun-Li muttered. "Any idea who might be behind this?"

"No," Ti sighed, "But whoever it is must have some sort of knowledge of the marital arts and have the technology to cup a deadly martial art into a simple drug. The only clue we got was that when we took this woman down, she used an energy source very similar to what is known as 'Satsu no Hadou'..."

Something clicked within Chun-Li's brain. "Satsu... no..." she started to repeat... then her eyes grew wide... Severely wide. "You can't be serious! You mean...?"

_flashback_

"_I will NOT tolerate this! I will NOT--!"_

"_Chun-Li! Charlie! He's here! Bison's right over here!"_

"_Ok! I'm coming! Keep your voice down so that he doesn't detect us."_

_I was with Charlie at the time... Charlie and Ken. We were in the middle of a huge sting on Shadowloo's recovery base, accompanied by the legendary fighter, Ryu, his fan, Sakura, her husband, Darrell, and a few of his friends. It was supposed to be a clever sneak attack to destroy Bison for good... but it quickly backfired. We were swarmed by wave after wave of Shadowloo dolls left and right... I personally thought we were done for, but we fought hard and we got to the heart of the base where we suspected the others were at. As Charlie, Ken and I looked into the threshold, I couldn't help but be in shock at what I saw. I caught glimpses of Ryu, Sakura, and the other girls on the ground, unconscious, but the main focus of my attention was the young, African American man who was beating the tar out of my #1 adversary. Bison had his back to the wall, looking spent. Darrell himself was just looking at him with true disgust as he stood firm in his fighting stance. A black ki aura surrounded his body and the thing that freaked me out was that his eyes were completely red. I thought he was possessed with his hatred..._

"_I knew it," Ken whispered. "This is the same vigor my master warned me and Ryu about. Satsu no Hadou: the evil energy behind Ansatsuken. That kid must have gone completely loco to actually channel that..."_

"_What are you saying, Ken?" I asked. "Are you saying that—"_

"_Oh, SHUT UP!" the kid yelled, slowly sliding his body in some sort of strange fighting stance. "I'm so sick and tired of bad guys giving their long-ass speeches before they die. It sickens me..."_

_Before I could blink, the kid warped over to Bison's face... FAST. Bison's eyes widened in shock, not only because of the young fighter's speed, but also because of the huge purple flame sword that Darrell impaled in his stomach. I let out a gasp right there. I just realized that this was exactly what I wanted to see. I wanted to see Bison pay for his sins. I wanted to see his empire crumble... and I wanted to see him pay for killing my father with his life. This was the moment I've been waiting for..._

"_...and frankly..." Darrell whispered, looking Bison straight into the eyes with the intent of murder on his mind, "I'm just tired of seeing your face. I hope they have a nice place reserved for you in hell..."_

_Then everything turned black as sounds of blows exploded in my ears. I managed to count 18... and the next thing I knew Bison was on the ground, dead and Darrell had his back to us... a kanji letter imprinted onto his Shadowloo uniform._

_REVENGE..._

"_Shungokusatsu," Ken called. "I don't believe this. That kid's going to turn into the next Akuma..."_

"_He's gonna WHAT?" I almost yelled out, but as I said that, his body completely hid behind his black aura... and when it faded there were _two_ of him._

"_Ken..." Charlie started, "Just what the hell is going on here?"_

_Ken just shook his head. "Here... I just don't know..."_

_The next few minutes we saw and heard the two Darells, one dark and one darker, exchange words... then blow up the huge contraption that was the Psycho Drive. At that moment, I heaved a sigh of relief._

"_That's it," I said to myself, "No more Bison..."_

_end flashback_

"So... you're trying to tell me that whoever this is knows Satsu no Hadou so well they could bottle it up in drug!" Chun-Li demanded.

Ti's only response was a solemn shake of the head. "It's a really good imitation if you ask me, but considering the files that we got on existing Satsu no Hadou beings like Darrell and Sakura Satsu, this 'fake' Satsu no Hadou is made up of only the negative energy... Now that I think about it... those reports you did on those two... How do you say they reacted?"

Chun-Li searched her mind a bit to relocate that 3-year-old report in her mind... then responded. "Sakura and Darrell S. both acted rather normal... Like regular human beings. However we did have some technicalities with Satsu no Hadou before concerning Ryu... but he expelled that from his body long ago.

"I understand... but that's enough wasting time. It's about time I showed you how urgent this situation is..."

The final clip on the projector showed a map of the world... with numerous markings in various locations of the world. The odd thing is that the moment she laid eyes on the symbols, she felt her heart drop severely.

"N... no... You're kidding..." she stuttered. "You're saying that...?"

Ti nodded. "Shadowloo's back... and by the looks of it, getting stronger by the day. We did have their backs pinned to the wall the past 3 years, but if they managed to bloom like this in such a short period of time, then we can only suspect the worst..."

"...that somehow... Bison has returned..."

After a hush silence claimed the room, Ti looked at both Ace and Chun-Li with great compassion.

"You both do understand where this leads, right?"

"Yes," both responded at the same time. Ti fell back in his chair and pulled an information portfolio from his desk. "Chun-Li, a majority of Interpol's energies have been directed into stopping Shadowloo once again... but we all know only you have the experience and know-how to get the job done. We trust you can put retirement on hold for just a little while longer until this is finished?"

Chun-Li gave a firm nod. "You can count on it."

"I know I can... Now, good luck. Ace? You'll be partnering up with her."

Ace gave a nod as well. "Yes, sir."

Just before the two Interpol investigators started to leave, Ti gave them one more piece of info.

"Guys! The most recent shipment of this drug was released in Tokyo, Japan yesterday. Make sure you start there."

"Don't worry, Ti," Chun-Li reassured. "We're on the case. Thanks for the info, though."

**Tokyo, Japan: 4:37 P.M.**

"Hey, kid? If you can still hear me, listen. You've got a lot of spunk and talent, I'll give you that, but you really need to work on your defense. I can Shouoken you to death without even trying."

"Uuuuuuuughh..."

The wind swept cherry blossoms all over the Tokyo street and all around the huge crowd that surrounded the two individuals. One was a young man, probably 19 or 20, in some athletic clothes, his short black hair a mess from the beating he received. He had several bruises on his skin but he wasn't seriously hurt... The other person was a beautiful, dark brown-haired woman, sporting a rather fashionable gray shirt with shorts to match. Her hair, which normally was kept short, now reached down to her shoulders. Her somewhat small body was really toned up by the effect of numerous battles over the many ears she experienced as a Street Fighter. A few years ago, only a select few would know her for who she really was besides the #1 fan of the legendary warrior, Ryu. Now, almost everyone in the world know her as Sakura Kasugano; the new World Warrior champion.

It had been 3 years after the Street Fighter 4 tournament was held in this city courtesy of Ken Masters and 3 years after Sakura defeated the demon fighter Kairi to win the tournament and become Street Fighter champion. It was a huge shock to all to hear that this 'wanna-be' actually won the big one but no one was under greater shock than Sakura. For the next 3 years she had a new look on things and she grew to become a rather cheerful yet respected 26-year-old champion. Very frequently she'd be challenged by fighters from far and wide, wanting to take on the new strongest woman in the world and despite her busy schedule as a high school teacher, Sakura managed to fight... and showcase her new arsenal of elegant yet effective techniques. She could no longer be called a follower.

Today was like any typical after school day. Sakura, on Thursdays, always held open challenges to anyone willing to take her on. The teenager on the ground in front of her was the 6th opponent she defeated today, and miraculously, she wasn't even breathing hard. The crowd of spectators looked on as she searched the crowd, some even taking pictures.

"Okay, is anyone else willing to fight me?" she asked kindly out loud as she bent down and did some leg stretches. There was a large mumbling from the crowd that didn't produce another opponent for the cherry blossom to tackle. Sakura jumped up from her crouching position and sighed.

_It always gets like this once I get warmed up with a few fights... _she thought. _Looks like I'm done he—_

"Mrs. Kaaaaasuganoooooooo!"

Sakura's thoughts were interrupted abruptly by the sudden voice that shot out over the crowd's commotion. In front of her the people made way for a youthful 16-year old girl, sporting a Tamagawa Minami pink sailor fuku, red sparring gloves, and pink sneakers. She had her blond hair set back into a ponytail and her lime green eyes screamed anxiety. For Sakura, this day just got a lot better. This particular girl she knew personally; she was a bright young girl who was inspired by her win 3 years ago to take up martial arts. Yes, this day was just getting started.

"Well, hello there, Ms. Saya Hashimoto," Sakura opened up, giving the girl a warm smile. "I see you finally made it, huh?"

Saya flashed a wide smile. "You're kidding? I'll never miss a Thursday afternoon and not fight you, Mrs. Kasugano. You know that."

Sakura nodded. "Yes. You're right about that... So then, I take it you're here for the usual lesson, aren't you?"

Saya nodded eagerly. Everyone could see just how anxious she was in once again going toe-to-toe with her mentor once again. Sakura, in response, adjusted her fighting gloves.

"I thought so. Well, then... Shall we get started?"

Saya smiled and then entered her fighting stance. "You're going to be surprised this time."

Sakura then dropped into her fighting stance, opened her hand facing her student, and beckoned her to make the first move. Saya did. The blonde lunged in with a fist to the face. Sakura simple backed away a step to avoid it. The Tamagawa student quickly followed up with a back knuckle with that same right hand which really wasn't meant to hit. Sakura then backed up a bit and opened big, her opponent barely able to block the strong roundhouse kick aimed for her side. Sakura kept spinning with her attack and on her way back around to face Saya she crouched low with a sweep kick. Just as the blossom predicted, the sweep hit, sending Saya reeling back. Still keeping momentum Sakura rose up and off the ground, delivering two hard hitting kicks that resembled her now old Shunpukyaku, only her body was more outstretched while doing the technique.

"Yaezakura!" she called as she came down and finished the 3th hit of her combination attack with a final roundhouse kick, knocking her student down on her side. Saya proved to be no slouch. As soon as she touched the ground she rolled on her arm and jumped up to her feet, whipping her right hind across her body and, almost within half a second, channeled a bit of her ki energy onto her hand.

"Hah!" Saya shouted as she shot her arm forward, a yellow energy streak flying off her hand and right at her teacher. Sakura, who had just finished recovering from her attack, tried to react to Saya's attack. If anyone watched Sakura and Saya's matches together, they could plainly see that Saya's Ray of Light had became faster and faster in every battle. Sakura grew aware of that the hard way as the energy attack nailed her right on her shoulder. The actual damage wasn't great but the speed powered up its force, throwing Sakura off balance and falling towards the ground. She stopped her fall by planting her hand in front of her, but as soon as she started to get up Saya 'helped' her out, taking this rather rare opportunity to give her teacher a swift kick to her stomach.

Surprised by the power behind it, Sakura found herself gasping for air, the air that used to be in her lungs knocked out of her, as she slowly got up to her feet. As soon as she spotted Saya she had to duck, for a fist would've surely knocked her back to the ground if she didn't. Saya, who thought she had connected, soon found out otherwise as Sakura rose up in front of her, planted her shoulder just under Saya's chin, grabbed her arm in one swift motion and slammed her over her head and to the ground.

Saya let out a yell as she hit the pavement. She noticed that if Sakura wanted she could be just as quick as she could... and knew for a fact that her teacher could have ended this fight by now. Realizing that, Saya rolled forward and to her feet, finding Sakura waiting on her. Heaving a sigh to perk p again, the Tamagawa sophomore got ready once again and then attacked with a few random punches and kicks. Sakura backpedaled, evading all the attacks if not blocking them.

_Hmm... Looks like someone's been training..._

"Come on, Saya!" Sakura encouraged. "Stop trying to hit me and hit me!"

At that moment Saya responded with a really fast slash kick that Sakura barely blocked in time. Saya smirked.

_Gotcha..._

She then actually caught her teacher off guard as she spun again, somewhat copying Sakura previous special move and delivered a swift kick to the legs. Sakura lost balance again, dropping down to one knee, and it cost her. Saya kept her momentum going and came back with a strong backhand punch. It hit and the next thing anyone knew Sakura was floored, shaking the cobwebs out of her head.

Saya blinked. Normally Sakura would be on top of things when she fights. She couldn't quite get why she wasn't being the exact same Storming Blossom that she was known for. Perhaps she was having an off day...

"Mrs. Kasugano? You ok?"

Sakura groaned a bit while shaking her head clear, then stood up. "Hai... I'm ok..."

"Are you sure? You don't seem yourself today..."

"I guess I'm a little off ..." Sakura admitted, brushing her shirt off," but it could be a lot worse. You're getting better though. I like that, especially since you caught me off guard twice. You still want to keep going?"

Saya seemed to hesitate a bit before smiling. "Sure!... That is if you're up to it..."

"Then lets not waste anymore time." The blossom once again got ready. "You might've gotten the advantage over me before, but now I'm going to give you a sample of my real skill."

One more gesture from the teacher to the student and...

"You think you can handle this wild cherry blossom?"

Saya smiled... and dashed in towards Sakura. "You just watch me!"

This time Sakura's focus was hardened. Just as Saya came out with another attack Sakura ducked it and instantly came up with a powerful punched to the stomach, almost knocking the air straight out of her. Pain racked through her body two-fold as that fist went up into an uppercut to the chin.

"Shouoken!" Sakura called out, leaping into the air and popping Saya right along with her. However, Saya air recovered and drove her sneaker right into the back of her teacher's head as she spun around. Sakura let out a yelp as her body fell face first towards the pavement. A split second before she collapsed Sakura put out her hands to plant them on the ground, then flipped up to a standing position. Her pupil was all over her, opting to connect a high kick to the chest. Sakura saw it coming and ducked, sweeping Saya off her feet. After a few moments on the ground Saya stood up and stood her ground, blocking Sakura's counter assault. As time wore on Saya began to realize that Sakura was back in full force and once that happens its hard to stop. She expected this to happen soon... This is normally where she starts getting the bad side of the fight... only this time, she was going to shut it up.

_I'm getting tired again... _Saya thought as she once again backed away from her teacher, trying to distance herself to get her plan to work. _I'd better watch my steps..._

Sakura on the other hand, was panting herself as she eyed her student.

_Wow... She's really doing better today... I better end this fight quickly. I've got things to do once I get home..._

"Get ready, Saya!" Sakura announced, rushing in faster than ever. "Yaru..."

_Here she comes..._

"Not this time, Mrs. Kasugano!" Saya yelled, holding her hands out to her sides, bracing herself, and her ki energy exploded out her hands. Sakura's eyes widened a bit in interest.

_Mmm... New move..._

"Shower of Light!" Saya yelled out, spinning in place while throwing her energy around herself in a wild, storm-like vigor attack. The crowd around the two women gasped in awe as the whirlwind expanded its range a few inches until the attack ended a few seconds later, Saya facing the way she started, wearing a smirk.

_Mrs. Kasugano's Yaru Zakura can't go through projectiles. She's gotta be down here somewhere..._

A few moments passed, in which time Saya... and everyone watching for that matter, looked around to see where Sakura disappeared to. It was weird... It was like she just vanished...

"Mrs. Kasugano?' the sophomore asked uneasily. Considering her experience in fighting, Saya knew that leaving Sakura out of sight could only spell P-A-I-N.

"Uh!"

Something flew off in Saya's senses and it was _big._ Looking up to the skies, Saya eventually spotted where her teacher was... and stared wide-eyed. Sakura was a good 15 feet above the ground, just floating in air... her hands cupped to her sides...

"Ryuusei..."

Sensing a large surge from her teacher, Saya braced herself, planting her sneakers into the concrete, not letting her eyes come off Sakura... A large purple orb of energy formed in the blossom's hands...

"HADOUKEN!"

Sakura shot her hands forwards and let loose a huge blast of energy towards Saya. It was almost too fast to react to; it covered the gap between the two in less than a second. Luckily, as soon as Sakura fired, Saya charged up her hands with her ki again and dove backwards, aiming her hands upwards...

"LIGHT RAIN! IKE!"

As soon as Saya's back hit the ground she countered her teacher by shooting off 4 beams of energy off her fingers. These thicker beams spread out as Sakura's Hadouken exploded right into the ground at Saya's feet, blinding Saya of her own energy. Several seconds went by as the sophomore stayed down, her eyes still up at the sky... and when the Hadou bits cleared another explosion of energy followed, this time her own. The beams she fired locked onto Sakura's position in the air and once they reached there they collided and exploded. Saya kept her eyes in the air, trying not to lose focus... but once the smoke cleared there wasn't a trace of her teacher... _again!_

The pupil gasped as she shot up to her feet.

_Where did she go _this _time? It's like she can teleport or something!_

"Er... Looking for me, Ms Hashimoto?"

"Ugh!"

Saya's eyes grew wide and her body froze.

_She's FAST... Aaaahh!_

An arm grabbed Saya's from the same place that the voice came from... from behind. Before the young fighter could figure out what was happening she found her legs get kicked out from under her, causing her to fall on her rear end. Another arm wrapped around her neck, completing the headlock Sakura was performing. For a while Saya started to struggle, grasping her teacher's arms and tried to pry them off, but that only made it tighter. Saya groaned as the pressure grew with each second.

"Saya..." Sakura whispered, mostly to herself rather to the actual person, "Come on... This is elementary. Anyone could break this up. You're losing focus..."

Unfortunately she didn't get the memo. After a bit more time Saya felt herself start to feel lightheaded. She stopped moving instantly, now noticing just how bad she was holding up. She started to gather some more of her ki in her right hand... and it started to glow yellow again...

"Sakuuuuuuuura..."

As if the word signaled the end of the battle, both fighters looked up from their positions and to the left, spotting a man of brown skin and African decent. He was a bit short for his age and despite standing out in the crowd of Japanese folk he didn't seem to mind at all. After all, he'd been living in Japan for over a decade. The teacher casually unwrapped her arms from her student's neck and stood up, facing the young man in the rather spiffy suit. The crowd surrounding them knew the relationship between those two...

After a quick moment of peace Sakura walked up to his face, smiled and brought her face close to his as if to peck a kiss on his lips... only once she did she slammed her fist right into his stomach. On contact his head jerked from her lips and onto her shoulder, gasping for air as his body grew stunned by the sudden attack. A majority of the crowd was in shock...

"Darrell... Sweetheart..." Sakura whispered in his ear, "What did I tell you to do when I'm in front of a student...?"

"Uuuugh... Damn..." was his only response, looking down at the asphalt below. Taking in deep breaths to recover his air that escaped his lungs, he closed his eyes... and swiftly returned the favor to the cherry blossom, taking his right fist and giving her just as much force as he received. Sure enough she didn't expect that to happen and her stomach responded by instantly swelling in pain. The crowd was totally confused. What the heck was happening?

"A... and what... did we say... about going off and... abusing your students, Sa... er... Mrs. Kasugano?" Darrell gasped, somewhat joking, "Better yet... what did we say about sneaking each other like this...?"

"Ooooooohhhhh... Good... point..."

"Well... nice to see you, too, my big cherry blossom..."

"How was work?"

"...I guess we can talk about that later..."

And with that Darrell pushed off his wife's body slowly while leaving a kiss on her cheek. He then looked over to the blond that was brushing her skirt off and said, "...but now I think you better wrap this up with her over there."

"Sure."

Sakura turned around to Saya and called her over, which the girl casually did. As she got close, Sakura could sense she was a bit disappointed...

"Ms. Hashimoto, I—"

"Tough love, huh? Saya unconsciously said just as Sakura started, causing the teacher to blink.

"Excuse me?"

Probably noticing a very rare opportunity, Saya smiled and simply pointed to her teacher's stomach and then to Darrell.

"I mean you and your husband..." she clarified. "Do you always show each other your love like that?"

"What? N-no! I—er... It's just—um-- It's just a little something that we do between us..."

Saya's smile grew wider. "If it's so little how come your blush doesn't say so? You're turning as ripe as a strawberry, you know..."

That was true. Despite the fact that Sakura and Darrell were together for 9 years, if anyone teased either spouse about their relationship they'd blush severely. How they could be so embarrassed about it was beyond even their understanding... Sakura just held a hand over one cheek and tried to change subject.

"Well... it's a bit odd that you didn't break out of that hold I put you in. It was rather weak, too."

"I guess I wasn't thinking..." Saya admitted, "but I was going to break it before Mr. Markis showed up." She glanced at her right hand, which the glowing calmly went down, and continued. "What I wasn't to know is how you managed to move so fast."

Taking a pause to remember what happened a while back, Sakura finally responded.

"I didn't really move that fast. You just had you focus up in the air. That's why you think I moved rather fast."

The Tamagawa student looked away for a bit. "Yeah... I guess..."

"Well, look at it this way. You really were impressive today. Whatever you're doing at home, you keep doing it."

Saya smiled at that, feeling a bit better. "You bet I will! I guess you're going to go home, right?"

"...something like that."

"Ok. Sayonara."

"Sayonara."

As Saya picked up her book bag that rested nearby and ran down the street, the crowd started to disperse. Sakura turned to Darrell, who was patiently waiting in front of the school's courtyard, running a hand through his wild, yet short black hair.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"Hai. I'm tired... It's been a long day and I can't wait to get going for this thing."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Really? What happened?"

Darrell put an arm over his wife's shoulder and walked off towards the Mitsubishi Galant that they bought together. "Well, it started when big-time businessman, Lee Chaolin, stopped by Metrosphere and asked for some funds for his Combot project..."

**Meanwhile...**

"Did you get any new techniques this time, Saya?"

"No, brother... Well... nothing that's of a big surprise. However, I seem to be getting to her more and more each week. These combat skills are starting to pay off. I was getting tired of getting my butt handed to me every Thursday."

"Well, that's nice and all, but we gotta report to base ASAP. She still doesn't suspect a thing, does she?"

"No, Me... er... Vexx..."

"Nice, little sis. Come on. It's your turn to report in since you're so familiar with her."

Saya looked up at a young man, wearing a navy blue military uniform of sorts over his urban clothes, along with a black ponytail that shot down his back. He was a good few inches taller than her and definitely older and bigger... He definitely looked like he'd been lifting weights throughout most his life. Behind him was a teenager. This one was about the same height as her and slightly older, wearing what Vexx had on and thin glasses and dark brown hair that reached to his shoulders. Definitely he appeared to be the brains behind the group, as he carried a backpack along with him that Saya knew contained a bunch of devices...

Vexx turned around to the other kid, who had his back turned to both him and Saya, busy fine-tuning one of the machines that he carried, and responded with, "Kai! Come on. Let's go before someone sees us."

"Alright, Vexx..." he sighed as he slipped the small item into his pocket and stood up. "We gotta get out of these duds and into our normal clothes before we get suspicious looks."

Vexx gave a slight smirk and jerked a thumb at his little sister. "You know what to do, little sis..."

"Sure," Saya responded, her right hand glowing with yellow energy again. She calmly looked around to see if anyone was around on the city street they stood on and then aimed her ki energy over her brothers. An instant later a column of light hid the men out of sight to everyone except Saya... who, in turn, looked away to play her role as just appearing to be training on her ki usage. As the minutes went by, only a few people passed by as she calmly kept watch, taking out a cell phone and messing with it with her left hand and holding the shade with her right. After 5 minutes, Kai's voice sounded out.

"Ok. Let's blow this place."

As she put the cell phone away and lifted the shade, the two showcased normal clothes suitable for walking the streets; their old clothes in Kai's bag. Without saying another word, the three took off down the street, heading to their next destination.


	3. So These Guys Enter A Restaurant

Author's note: Before I go on I'd like to make some things clear. This fic's purpose is to tell a story. A fictional, non-canon story. Therefore, certain things "i.e. Chun-Li's last name and Arika's EX characters" were obviously used just for the sake of it. I think we all know no one knows that last name, so I just adopted it. Please do take this very seriously. However, if it's something positive you want to add or point out (like spelling problems or grammar), please feel free to do so. I will admit that things pass my eyes when I proofread. Now... um... where was I? Oh, yeah. Third chapter coming up.

**_CHAPTER 3: SO THESE GUYS ENTER A RESTAURANT..._**

**Tokyo, Japan: 7:05 P.M.**

"A few hours later I let him know. Metrosphere's financial department was going to give Mr. Lee the 1500000 loan. I guess I should've known better. Considering the fact that this would be a great sponsoring opportunity, it could put this little software company on the map."

"That's pretty nice," Sakura replied as she rode in the passenger seat of their Mitsubishi Galant, listening to some American Jazz music. They rode through the glistening light of Tokyo's busy commerce, about to head out to a nice dinner at a new restaurant that had recently opened up. After stopping home and changing clothes, the two were certainly looking like quite the pair. Darrell now wore a simple designer shirt with the image of a raging fire on it with pants to match. Sakura sported a rather nice blue crystal dress as if to counteract Darrell's flaming design, her hair a bit more straightened out than during her matches and overall looking fabulous. Years ago, Sakura never really believed in dressing up to anything. She was as big as a tomboy as you could get... That could've been hard to say about her now...

"So how was your day?" her husband asked while stopping at a red light. "I don't want to seem so talkative, you know."

"Yeah, well... I really can't complain. Everything was pretty normal today."

Darrell looked at her with a bit of a 'get real' look. "Sakura, 'normal' to you isn't exactly normal."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes..."

"Tell me, then..."

After a pause of thinking it over, Darrell continued with, "Ok, let's forget the fact that you're 26, a teacher at your old school, spent 4 years in college to get your degree in order to do this and some other professions, and the other 'normal' things. Let's look at what's left. You've been in a romantic relationship with a man who's not only younger than you, but also pretty much a minority in Japan for about 10 years. That's not exactly normal considering where we live at now."

Sakura shot him a look. "Darrell... two things. One, the light's green now."

Darrell gasped as he looked up at the light, noticed that she was right, and sped the car forward. Once they crossed the intersection, the blossom continued.

"Second, who cares if it's not normal for a Japanese woman to marry an African man? If the two who are bonded don't have a problem with it, then being 'normal' should be the last thing on their minds."

"Yes, yes. I know all that. I never-um- what mean to say is that we live in Japan, correct?"

"Yes, Darrell."

"Well... you do realize I'm one of the few people around who are of my background... Sometimes I sorta get that feeling... You know... that you stick out like a sore thumb in a crowd..."

"Oh... that's what you mean..."

"But that's going off track. I'm talking about us. We're both Street Fighters. Famous ones at that. We've been at it for years and have done a lot. We've been getting in and out of trouble with a lot of people. We've did away with Bison twice, finished off Akuma twice-"

"Correction. You finished Akuma twice with help from me and Ryu... and that tall guy in that red suit who stole his energy right afterwards... Think his name was Rugal now that I look back at it..."

Darrell rolled his eyes. "Sakura, we only met the guy once and he attacked us before we even knew who he really was. Also, the last time I checked, he beat _us_. We just got lucky when help showed up. In a way, I wonder what his motives were... Anyway, you beat Kairi. That's how you became champ in the first place. All of this and neither of us have reached 30 yet."

"Well... yeah... That's true..."

"I don't know what made me think about all this, Sakura... Maybe it's because it's where we wound up. I got an office job and you're a school teacher. Despite the times when we got together with friends and spar, we don't get a lot of action. I guess we're a bit more normal than I thought..."

The couple remained quiet for a while as Darrell turned down a rather lit street. Commercial stores were all over on both sides, lying in the wake of several large skyscrapers a few blocks away. Sakura looked at Darrell again noticing his somewhat uneasy eyes as they shifted from side to side. Just as she started to call his name, he pulled the car sharply to the right, pulling into a parking lot outside a rather new looking building. As Darrell pulled into a parking space facing the wall and between an SUV and another car, Sakura could clearly see the insides of the restaurant.

"We're here," Darrell announced with a smile on his face. He looked over the Sakura while opening his door and then hopped out, Sakura following right behind him.

"So what is this place, anyway?" the blossom asked. The younger of the couple stretched his arms way above his head and sighed, looking up to the crimson lit sky, and then looked over the hood of the car to face his wife.

"Well... I've only heard of it from some guys at work but they say this place has the best of everything. Foods from all over the world. Best buffet this side of Gato's, Sakura."

He then gave her a smirk, saying loudly, "'Wakaba Family Restaurant.' The friendliest environment outside of home cookin'!"

Sakura couldn't help but giggle. "You know, I almost forgot that Hinata was going to open up a restaurant. She's doing a lot lately..." At that part of her sentence she joined Darrell at the other side of the car and started to walk side by side with him to the entrance. "Part time pilot, environmentalist, mother of a 5 year-old and chef... not to mention one heck of a Street Fighter. Now that I think about it, everyone from high school's grown to be something cool, now haven't they?"

Darrell nodded as they reached the corner of the restaurant and prepared to turn. Just as they did this...

FLASH!

"Aaah!" both yelped out, stumbling backwards from the sudden blinding light that came from nowhere. As they wiped their eyes with their arms a good laugh rang through the air.

"Gomen na sai! I guess old habits die hard, don't they, guys?"

Sakura lifted her head and blinked rapidly, trying to get the spots out of her eyes as well as try to identify the person in front of her. After a few seconds her eyes managed to make out a woman about her height and age, her dark purple hair in a nice, curly hairstyle leading down her short sleeved shirt, which was accompanied with jeans and sneakers. However, once she laid sights on the digital camera in her hands, Sakura instantly know who it was.

"Ran Hibiki!" she said out loud while sharing a hug with one of her long- time friends. "Long time no see! How're you doing these days?"

"Mmmmm!" Ran responded, literally hugging Sakura tight before letting go. "Still busy as ever, that's for sure. After that big political scandal between Japan and England watered down, trying to get a good story was hard. Things get boring quickly around here."

Just then she smiled. "But now, on my vacation, I meet up with the champion of the streets herself and her burning husband! Something like this is destined to hit a spot on the Tokyo Sun and News Combo 7!"

Sakura blushed. "Aww... Stop playing around... I'm not that sweet..."

"No. You're hot. Still on the tops of the tiers as I hear it... and to think I used to go to school with you guys. I haven't picked a fight with someone in a long while..." Ran then looked at Darrell, "but I still remember fighting YOU..."

Darrell twisted his mouth. "Even after 10 years you think I'd forget? You're crazy."

"I know, I know. It was a good fight, too. Too bad it ended in a draw. I was wiping you all over the arena. Something like that I'm not willing to let you forget."

"Oh, look who's bragging..."

"I was and you know it!" the reported sharply shot back, pointing at him while doing so. "Hey, but now you'd be able to toast me like nobody's business. I was there reporting at the Ryubi Exhibition a few months back. The way you handled those guys like charcoal was wonderful. You think you can take Kyo Kusanagi and K' like that?"

Darrell thought about it for a while, then answered... "Well... you know that I fight Kyo whenever I see him. Technically, many people around call me his rival or 'Burning Twin' mainly because we share a lot of things in our fighting styles. Well... now that I think about it... I think I'm more like him as I get older when it comes to techniques... Anyway, I fought him a few times but I always lose. He's just better than I am, but I'll beat him one day. K', on the other hand... Well... from what I've heard about him, I don't want to bother him."

Ran gave him a look right afterwards. "Don't tell me that you're scared of him..."

"I didn't say all that. He just seems like the type not to be bothered..."

"Yeah, well... you keep on that, then..."

"Don't worry about it. So, Ran, we're you here to eat something or were you leaving?"

"I was coming in."

"Want to come and eat with us?"

"Sure! That sounds sweet!"

"Well... come on, then," Sakura said while passing Ran and opening the door. "I want to eat before the night rush comes. As you can see, there's no line at the front desk right now."

Both Darrell and Ran quickly shot playful glances at one another before the reporter went on in with Sakura. Darrell smugly put his hands in his pockets and followed. Once inside, the three laid eyes on the gorgeous environment that was the restaurant. Beyond the short wall leading to the register were dining tables of all varieties, positioned around the long buffet tables near the left side. Each table had a different type of bouquet of flowers on it, definitely showing how romantic an environment like this was. Soft music played overhead as couples, family, friends, and individuals enjoyed themselves. Luckily it wasn't enough to say that the place was crowded.

"Yep, this is how I like it," the blossom commented as she walked over to the counter, Ran sitting at the waiting area just behind her. The woman who manned the register didn't even notice that Sakura was there. She was busy trying to get the vast sums of yen organized in the cashier drawer, which faced away from the front door... and away from Sakura. However the blossom waited patiently, listening to the woman's soft whispering.

"Um... darn, I keep messing up... Uh... 1,000... 2,000... 3,000... 5,000... 7,500... da, da, da, da, da, da... Youshi! Got it! 41,000 ¥ all accounted for!"

Smiling, the cashier woman confidently put the currency back in its place and finally turned to see Sakura staring back at her.

"Oh!" she gasped, her long black hair jolting in a wave as her head snapped back. "Ai, ai, ai... did I keep you waiting?"

Sakura shook her head. "Not long... Don't worry so much. You'll age prematurely."

The employee rubber the back of her head shyly. "I'm sorry about that... It's sort of my first week here and I'm nervous."

"Hey, you don't need to be so worked up, Kaede," Sakura reassured, obviously letting the young woman know she red her name tag. "Knowing Hina...er... Mrs. Wakaba, she's not going to bite your head off if you do something wrong."

This made Kaede smile. "I see... You're one of Hinata's friends. The famous fighter, ne? Well, let me guess. Three adults, family buffet?"

"Nah," Darrell rejected. "Two adults and one teenager. I'm not 18 yet."

"Oh, come on!" Sakura moaned playfully, elbowing her husband in the ribs causing the cashier to giggle. "No lame jokes tonight, ok?"

The younger spouse rolled his eyes. "Sure, sweetie..."

"Ok... Three adults..."

Kaede turned to ring up the total. "3200 ¥."

On cue, the blossom handed her the exact amount from her purse. After registering, Kaede stepped away from the counter and towards the dining area.

"Allow me to escort you to a table."

Kaede leg the three to a vacant corner table so that they could see the entire restaurant at once. Once they got there Kaede spoke.

"If you need anything just let me know. Help yourselves and enjoy your stay here."

And with that she left the three to their business...

**5 minutes later**_  
_  
"What did I tell you, Sakura? Best. Food. Ever."

Sakura couldn't help but smile as she chewed on her food. All three of them were enjoying the vast variety of cultural foods that they scooped up from the buffet. Ran dug into ribs and yellow rich on her plate, Darrell enjoyed his addiction to General Tso's Chicken that he had ever since he was 13, and Sakura chewed on her Lo Mien. So far everything was nice as the blossom looked across the room.

"I wonder where Hina's at..."

"So..." the dark-skinned flame said through chews, "how...'s Dan, Ran?"

"Probably getting his butt whooped by Ryo Sakazaki," she replied smugly. "They both need to retire, if you ask me. This feud's been going on for like... 15 years or something... Honestly Yuri can take both of them at her level now."

Everyone at the table let out some laughs at that one.

"Well, I only speak the truth, y'know."

"It's sort of a shame that the Saikyo and Kyokugen schools still are going at it," the blossom commented. "I mean... I remember when I was part of Dan's school. He was always so wrapped up in showing off Ryo... whenever he wasn't acting like a goof or trying to prove that he's not an imitator of Robert Garcia." She giggled and continued on. "Anyway... I sorta bought into his ramblings. I don't know why... then I met Yuri. We were both young at the time. I think I was 14 and she was 16. We started off being fierce rivals but we soon realized that we were just rivals because of our schools. We got to know each other and we were friends from that point on."

"Hmm..."

"Uh?"

Sakura looked at Ran, who seemed to have magically summoned a notepad and pen from nowhere and started writing down what she said word for word. After a while Ran stabbed the final period in and ate another rib. The blossom frown-smirked.

"She isn't called Japan's best reporter for nothing."

Just then Sakura's eyebrows raised and her eyes shifted over to her husband, who was taking a sip out of his soda. Something... just made itself loud and clear to her...

"Darrell?"

The said person looked out the corner of his eye and put his glass down. "Yes, Sakie?"

Sakura just stared at him for a little while, wonder if she should...

_"...you do realize I'm one of the few people around who are of my background..."_

"I... need to ask you something," Sakura opened up. "Forgive me if it's a little personal..."

Darrell gave his wife a somewhat blank look. "Just ask me."

"Darrell, why did you come to Japan 10 years ago?"

Silence ran through the table after the question was asked. Sakura and Darrell looked into each other's eyes rather hard, as if searching each other for something... until Darrell closed his eyes and sighed.

"I can't believe that after all this time I never told you... You want to know the truth? Here it goes... Eleven years ago... the Street Fighter's second circuit was taking place. At the time I had left a Tae Kwon Do school while I still lived in America. I can't stand being taught by a sensei. I still can't. Well, now that I think about it, that wasn't really a tournament but most of the matched were televised and after the first tournament made such a buzz... well... never mind. Between the time which I left that school and those matches all over the world I had been watching tapes of Ken Masters in his show in the U.S. Pan American Martial Arts Tournament and tried to adapt all that he did for myself. I admit I... didn't take it seriously. If my mom had never introduced me to that Tae Kwon Do school in the first place I might not have known about martial arts outside Kung Fu movies. But anyway, I still didn't take it seriously... at first. Back when I started, this was just another form of exercise. That changed later that year... when I was 14 and those matches were being televised. I saw you, Sakura..."

Sakura opened her eyes a bit. "You... did?"

Darrell nodded. "Yes, Sakura. I saw you. It was when you were about to fight Sagat. I turned to that channel just as they were introducing the two of you to the viewers. It had your bio on and the guys said how you were a new face to the Street Fighter circuit, how you came about, and a small interview with you."

"Oh... I... I remember that. They didn't show it but that news reporter was obnoxious. I could barely say anything without him cutting me off. The station had to cut a lot of it out."

"I didn't know that... Well, anyway, I initially thought Sagat was going to spank you all over the pavement-"

Darrell paused when he received a hot glare from his wife. He instantly rushed to finish.

"-but from the interview I noticed... a bit of a... resemblance to myself in you. You left the Saikyo dojo because your sensei was... how you say... a nut."

"No. More like 'goof-off'", Sakura corrected.

"Yeah... that and the fact that you looked up to a famous Street Fighter yourself just like I did. You had Ryu; I had Ken. It wasn't until I saw you in action that I grew a liking to you. You were giving the big guy your all and even for a young schoolgirl that was obviously the underdog, you gave Sagat a fight I doubt he'd ever forget. And the fact that you still walked away from it at the end without being banged up too badly made me realize something: I was growing to be a fan of you. Not just one of those hentai fanboys-"

At this moment Darrell pulled Sakura close and whispered, "Don't get me wrong... I DID have a number of those wet dreams fantasizing about you..."

He then pulled away and said out loud again, "-but someone who admired your charisma, bravery, and natural born talent. From then on I took my self training more seriously than before, having you and Ken as my mentors. Also... I always dreamed of going to Japan... to possibly see you and challenge you once I gotten better. A year later I got an offer from a student exchange program that visited my school. I eagerly signed up, was accepted... and the rest is history..."

At the end of all that, Ran was shaking her hand from recording so much in her notebook. However, the married couple was still locked by their eyes. Sakura's heart was thumping wildly, finally getting an answer as to why an African American would travel all the way to Japan just to attend school. She knew when she first met him that there was something more to it... but she never knew it was because of HER...

"I... I..." she found herself stammering as she continued to stare at Darrell. "I... I don't believe it. You've... been a fan of me...?"

Darrell slowly nodded. "More than just a fan. After we finally met during the high school problems, I truly cared for you. I hated to see you hurt and I loved to see you smile. You grew on me ever since day one. I... I had the biggest crush on you... Way before the Turn of the Century tournament. But... you know... rumors are ugly, mainly the one that said you had a crush on Ryu."

"Darrell-"

"Sakura, don't worry. After meeting the guy personally I could see why. He's really attractive. I didn't blame you if you had a crush on him... I was surprised at first that you took me over him... but after hearing about things your way, I realized that it sorta made sense."

Darrell let out a short laugh. "Lucky me, huh? I... managed to marry my idol; a girl that's one and a half years older than me... I'm so lucky..."

He ended with his eyes closed, his head down, reflecting on everything that happened the past 10 years... all while having a smile on his face.

"Awesome..." Ran whispered, just finishing her recording. "That's a... beautiful story..."

"Oh, Darrell!"

"Aah!"

Before he could even react, Sakura grabbed him pulled him close in a tight hug and gave him the biggest kiss he had in a while. His eyes shot open as his heart pounded along side Sakura's. He was taken completely by surprise, especially since she was unleashing so much love out of nowhere. Ran was busy taking a few photos of it all as well and didn't stop until the two broke their kiss, gasping for air.

"Hah... hah... S... Sakura? What's... gotten into you all of a sudden?"

Blushing, Sakura replied, "It's... it's just that I never knew someone could care so much about me. That I was actually a role model years ago. I thought I was just an abnormal schoolgirl looking up at that man... and the fact that I'm married to my admirer makes me... makes me warm inside. I truly love you because of that. That's why I fell in love with you; because you weren't an abuser, hentai or egotist. You are the first my age that I can say truly cared for me. I... I just couldn't contain myself, Darrell. You made me fall in love all over again."

"Aww... Sakura..." Darrell said sweetly and pecked another kiss on her cheek. "You do the same to me everyday... Stay here. I'll go get you some dessert."

"Ok, my little chocolate bar... Don't be gone for too long."

Darrell smiled and moved out the corner and turned around to head back up to the buffet... but something abruptly stopped his foot from moving forward. He let out a yelp as his eyes grew wide, quickly losing balance...

THUD!

Before either Ran or Sakura knew it, Darrell fell face first on the carpeted floor. Instantly the table next to him erupted in laughter, obviously at his expense. Just as he started to get up a firm boot planted itself into his back, making him stay down.

"Hah! Look here guys! A perfect example of a love-struck idiot!"

Darrell turned his head to try to look up at the guys who obviously tripped him. Despite the fact that the four of them all had jeans on, he couldn't see faces. As he strained to get up, Sakura Ran got up from their seats.

"Hey!" Sakura yelled out. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

The guy who had his boot on Darrell wiped a hand through his stylish black hair and gave Sakura a look.

"Don't sweat it, babe. I'm pretty sure this guy wasn't doing anything important... so I'm giving him something to do to get his head out of the clouds; serve as my foot stool!"

The guy let out a carefree laugh as his pink-haired girlfriend crooned to him over his shoulder. The guy's body frame was soave yet toned, as if he worked out. It clearly showed through the clingy black shirt he wore.

"Tch! Guys like you are so alike," Ran commented. "Too dumb to realize what they're messing with."

At this point the guy that sat across from the first two turned to face the young women. One of them had longer black hair and a big smirk on his face. The other, however, didn't have that charisma. As soon as he laid eyes on Sakura, he turned back around and tried to finish his food.

"Mmm... you're Ran, that ultra-popular photographer," the first of the two said.

"Yeah. So what's it to ya?" Ran shot back, putting her notes and camera back in its carrying case.

"Heh, heh... You're much more snooty in person... Might want to watch who you're talking to with that tone."

Ran immediately scoffed. "Trust me, I don't need to watch who I'm talking to, considering that all I see is an ignorant bastard."

Suddenly, the pretty boy of the group almost lost his balance as Darrell sprung up off the floor and to his feet. The guy let out a growl as his girlfriend consoled him and then shot Darrell a look.

"Hey, you twerp," she spat in a very nasty tone, "You almost made Ryoshi mess up his clothes!"

"Oh, please..." Darrell muttered while brushing his shirt off, "Somebody like him most likely has a million of those tucked away in his closet somewhere..."

"You alright, Darrell?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Now... what was I doing...? Oh, yeah."

After giving Sakura a small wink Darrell walked off to his destination while the girls shot warning glances at the group at the table. Ryoshi only smirked, as well as his first companion, causing Sakura to groan a bit before sitting down.

"Yeesh... I hate people like that," she said to her friend.

"You're not the only one. How obnoxious."

"Yeah..."

Sakura took out a small hair brush and ran it through her hair, straighten it out. While she did this Ran asked a question.

"So... you haven't seen Ryu in a while, I guess..."

"Yes... About 3 years I think."

"You plan on trying to track him down again?"

Sakura temporarily stopped brushing and focused on Ran. She would be lying if she didn't want to see how he's doing. The guy must still be going despite being 37 years old now... However...

"I don't think so," the blossom replied. "I mean, come on. I have a life now. Husband, job as a school teacher... and so many responsibilities I have to put up with. There's just no more time to be going off trying to find him... and even if I did find him what's my reason? I would never think that I'd go out to find him just because... However... I do get this feeling... like something big's going to happen soon..."

Ran blinked. "Really? Woman's intuition?"

Sakura looked away to the now dark sky outside the windows. "You could say that..."

Ran blinked a little more, and then sat back, looking at her post-dinner plate. "You used to freak me out every time you said that when we were younger... because you were always right."

"Yeah... I kn-"

"AAAAHHHH!"

Sakura jumped out of her seat as her friend did the same. Jumping away from the table Sakura kept her eyes on Ran, who was looking wide-eyes at the table.

"What's wrong, Ran?" Sakura asked frantically.

The reporter just pointed under the table, stammering, "T...that perv! He was under the table looking under your dress!"

"He WHAT?"

Feeling a bit tense after hearing that, Sakura looked under as well... and barely saw a pair of legs pull themselves under the seat... towards the table where Ryoshi and his posse were laughing like there was no tomorrow... or rather, the posse minus 1. That was quickly fixed as the 'shy' guy with the glasses emerged from under their table and sat down in his seat, receiving a hair rub from his mate.

"Hey! I didn't know you had guts like that, Minchi!" he congratulated. "How much did you see?"

"Oh, stop it already, Goretsu," Minchi shot back, fixing his glasses while swatting his buddy's hand away. "I admit it; the woman's got some good-"

Before Sakura herself could shoot her anger, an arm shot across the table and grabbed Minchi by his shirt. It then dragged him out from his seat and onto the food-covered table, knocking it off and onto the laps of Ryoshi, Goretsu, and the pink-haired girl in a sloppy mess. Finally the thin brown- haired pervert was slammed face first into the carpet, smashing his glasses in two.

"Of all the stupid things, THAT TEARS IT!" came Darrell's totally ticked off voice, his focus on the guy who took a personal look at his wife. By now everyone in the restaurant was looking at them, wondering just what the heck was going on.

"AAH! My clothes! They're ruined!" the pink-haired woman shrieked, frantically trying to brush off the contents from her shirt and blouse. Ryoshi looked at her for a second then abruptly stood up, giving Darrell an evil glare.

"How DARE you! That's my girl, you pig!"

Just as that last word escaped his voice box Darrell reached out and grabbed him by his neck, his strong grip choking the pretty boy. Letting out gags, Ryoshi tried to beat himself free but...

"How DARE YOU let that jerk look at my wife like that!" Darrell blasted. "I could live with you getting off with that first stunt, but this really ticked... me... OFF!"

With that Darrell swiftly let go of his neck but relocated the hand to the back of his head, swatting it down and smashing his face into the hard marble that made up the table. The strength was enough to almost break his nose, but he was still hurt, holding his face with both hands. The whole things raised commotion around the area as Darrell's act caused big Goretsu to stand up.

"You're going to pay for that!" he roared as he lunged at Darrell, throwing punches all aimed at the head. The young fighter dodged it all while moving backwards down the aisle, pedestrians scampering away in their seats to avoid getting hit. Just as Darrell thought he had it all figured out the slightly taller and bigger man came with a fist to the stomach, catching him off guard. Darrell let out a yell as his head dropped, pain racking through his torso. Goretsu took advantage and planted another fist into his chest, knocking Darrell off his feet and back first into a table right behind him. He let out a moan as he slumped to the ground, his senses blurred, but he quickly snapped out of it as Goretsu let out a roar, rearing his fist back again.

"TAKE THIS!"

"Aah!" Darrell gasped as he quickly lowered his body to the ground, barely missing the attack which instead met the table. Goretsu let out a painful yell as he recalled his arm, savoring it. This granted Darrell enough time to shoot up into a standing position, his right fist exploding into flames as it shot up and found its mark into the big guy's chin. The uppercut packed enough force to send him sailing through the air in a blaze before crash landing on the floor, where he stayed, writhing in pain. Sakura and Ran just looked on, but Ryoshi and his girlfriend was livid. The pretty boy jumped into the aisle and faced Darrell.

"Why you..." he growled, clenching his fist at his side.

"Don't do it to yourself, pal," Darrell warned. "As much as I want to burn you until you apologize, I'm trying to show some restraint here. We're in a restaurant for crying out loud!"

Ryoshi spat at that. "Jalin, you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Jalin...?" Darrell repeated, clueless. "Who...?"

"Of course, Ryoshi-poo," the pink haired woman replied, jumping out behind her boyfriend. "He's going to pay for messing up my good clothes!"

_Oh, crap... A two on one in a place like this? I can't get much mobility here. I gotta take this outside somehow..._

"Listen!" Darrell pleaded. "This isn't the place! They're people trying to eat!"

"Screw them!" Ryoshi shot back. "We're going to grind you into the dirt where you belong!"

At the end of that the guy shot forward towards Darrell, ready to attack. Darrell saw it coming and dodged to the right and down the other aisle, trying to find a place to get some space. Jalin noticed where this was going and stared to rush off to help but a hand forcibly stopped her from going anywhere.

"Oh, no you don't!" Sakura yelled. "You're staying right HERE!"

Just as aggressively as Sakura had stopped Jalin, the other woman returned it by slapping the blossom's hand away.

"Get off, you bitch!" she shot back angrily, her eyes hot with rage. "You're not stopping me from getting to my boyfriend!"

No sooner than she said that, Jalin's head was sent to the ground, followed by the rest of her body. Her cheek was starting to swell... and for good reason.

"Don't you EVER call me that again! You'll live to regret it!"

Jalin shook her head and got up to her hands and knees.

"You... you punched me..." she said in a dazed voice. She then balled her fists and shot up, prepared to teach Sakura a lesson. "I'll get you for touching me!"

Jalin took a wild swing that Sakura blocked easily. She then came with another haymaker with the other that was ducked and returned with an elbow to the face. Jalin cursed as she fell back, holding her face with her hands to see if she was bleeding. When she found out she wasn't she gave a nasty glare to the woman in front of her and came at her once again.

Sakura braced herself to counter whatever the woman would throw at her but she wasn't prepared for the tackle Jalin did, planning them both in the seat where Sakura just ate at. On instinct Sakura tried to put her hands up to shield her face but Jalin was surprisingly quicker than she seemed to be. She pinned Sakura's arms down with her knees, sat up a bit and unleashed her fury with her own fists.

"You filthy... dirty... no good..." the woman screamed as she let out her onslaught on the hapless Sakura below her. "You're... nothing... compared... to..."

She then reared her fist back, getting a good look at the blossom. She had her eyes closed and her face was beginning to bruise up...

"ME!" Jalin finished, about to drive the final blow home but another hand grabbed her fist from behind. Letting out a frustrated growl Jalin spun around...

"Smile for the camera!"

...and let out a scream as a blinding flash not only blinded her vision but blew her off Sakura and into the wall. She slumped into the seat totally out for the count as Sakura opened her eyes to see what's going on. Instead a hand was all she could see.

"Here... Need help?"

"Thanks, Ran..."

Grabbing hold to the helping hand above, the blossom was hoisted out of her seat and to her feet. Shaking her head free of its slight dizziness Ran also helped her out by brushing off her dress.

"You ok, Sakura?"

"Hai..." Sakura responded. "For someone like her she hits pretty hard... but it seems your camera's got more kick than it ever did before, huh?"

Ran smirked. "Only when it needs to... I think we better help out Darrell... Umm... now that I think about it, where is he?"

Both women looked around them. Despite the fact that now a majority of the people in the in the restaurant were staring at Jalin and Sakura, there was no sign of either Darrell or Ryoshi... that is until Sakura sensed some energy at work... and it wasn't normal energy for that matter.

"Found them," she said. "Ran, do me a favor and watch her? I'm going to help out."

Ran responded by giving a thumbs up. "You can count on it."

**Meanwhile...**

"Dammit! Why... are you so freaking tough to beat?"

Darrell only stared at Ryoshi as they stood on the sidewalk. Cars were passing by on the street just to the right but people who were walking stopped to see the fight, which Darrell had dominating ever since they 'stepped' outside. Ryoshi had a hand on his stomach, his whole body screaming in pain from the other guy's blows. Darrell, however, seemed like 100. The pretty boy cursed again and stared at Darrell with as much hatred as he could muster.

"You want to know why I'm kicking your ass so easily? It's simple, really. I've handled jerks like you one too many times. You're all the same to me. I can burn you without even breaking a sweat. Going to the gym is only going to get you but so far, buddy boy."

Ryoshi let out another growl, sweat running down his face and his hair stressed. Darrell only responded by hardening his eyes.

"Now... are you going to apologize to me and my wife... and those people in that restaurant for breaking their mood or am I going to have to rough you up some more?"

"You... expect me... to a... apologize? Never! I don't apologize for anything!"

Darrell closed his eyes and sighed. "That's too bad... I thought you would listen to reason... Come on! What are you going to do? You're hurt, I'm not even breathing hard, and even if by some odd twist of fate you pull something remotely cool I'll just heat up twenty fold. Give it up before I'm forced to make you."

Ryoshi groaned again as he dropped his head, grasping tightly to his stomach. Darrell just looked on.

"You don't get it..." the pretty boy muttered. "I... I never apologize... and I'm... not starting now... I'll kill you and everyone else here..."

"Uh?" Darrell gasped. "What the...?"

_Something's wrong. I can sense something deep building here..._

Darrell steadied himself in his fighting stance as Ryoshi let out a loud moan, his eyes shooting up to come in contact with Darrell's. To much of Darrell's sock an aura started to form around his enemy... A very familiar blood red aura...

"Do you hear me?" Ryoshi yelled, his normal eyes starting to completely become overrun by an eerie redness. "I'll kill you all!"

Darrell's eyes flung wide. "What the HELL?"

"YAAAHHH!"

Without warning the pretty boy launched his body forward in a blur, his attacking arm slamming into Darrell's stomach with abnormal vicious power. The Japanese-American found his body flying into the parking lot and slamming head first into a van. With a yell of pain, Darrell fell to the ground stunned by the sudden force of the attack. Opening his eyes, he saw a wild version of Ryoshi running towards him at high speed and snapped out of his daze. Letting out another savage scream Ryoshi lunged towards him with another strike just as Darrell got to his feet, his back facing his attacker. Ryoshi landed another powerful strike to that vulnerable backside... or did he? The moment he touched, Darrell smirked and his entire body lit up with flames, torching Ryoshi. He screamed as he fell to the pavement, writhing in an inferno.

"Ashi Keppaku..." Darrell grinned while spinning around, his arm up behind him and holding up another flame in his hand, "...and this is where the play ends!"

As Ryoshi tried to move, Darrell twisted his torso around, his arms wrapped around his chest and his hands both holding large flames. Darrell waited until Ryoshi got to one knee... and faced him, letting out a startled yelp.

"Time to fry, psycho! SAISHUU HINOTE!"

With that, his arms swung up and then down, the embers flying off his hands and colliding at point-blank range. The wave blasted Ryoshi away and back where they started, totally burning his silk shirt completely and causing the familiar aura to die out. Once he got the message that the guy wasn't getting back up, Darrell rested his back against the van he almost dented and sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Geez... that was a pain..." he mumbled, "...but that aura... That looked just like..."

"Darrell!"

He looked up and saw Sakura making her way towards him, noticing a few bruises on her face. He twisted his mouth as she came close.

"You, too?" he asked flatly.

The blossom nodded. "Yes. I didn't expect that woman to hit so hard but the moment I sensed that energy I thought you were in trouble."

"That... wasn't me..."

Sakura gave Darrell a look. "What are you saying? Is your 'brother' getting to you again?"

"No! I'm serious, sweetie. It was that guy over there."

Sakura followed Darrell's glance to see that same guy who started everything on the pavement. Although there was no aura, Sakura definitely sensed the signs of an evil energy that seemed like... She instantly shook her head.

"It can't be what I think it is," she mumbled. "It just doesn't make sense."

"Well, you better make some sense out of it, Sakura, because I want a LOGICAL explanation as to why you disrupted the costumers' meals tonight!"

Both Sakura and Darrell cringed at the sudden voice that rang through the air. Looking towards the door of the restaurant, the two found a brown- haired woman wearing a clean working uniform and shoes. She was around Sakura's height and size, and wore a nametag on her shirt that clearly started "Manager: Hinata Wakaba" on it...

"I... W.. w-w-wait, Hina," Sakura explained, putting her hands up as if she wasn't the one responsible for all that happened that night. "It's not what you think! I would never-"

"Then what, then, Sakura? Darrell?" she shot back while storming over to the two, obviously ticked off. "I couldn't get any work done with you making all that fuss and I come out of my office, I find an unconscious woman in a seat and a huge mess at a few of my tables!"

"We're sorry!" Darrell immediately countered. "We were only protecting ourselves!"

"From what?" Hinata sharply demanded. Both Sakura and Darrell pointed behind her and Hinata spun around to see another body K.O.'ed. At first she was going to ask what he had to do with anything... but after a second she stopped her anger streak and just stared at him. "Oh... I see... but... wait... what are you giving me? You mean that burst of evil energy wasn't Darrell or yours?"

Darrell just shook his head. "Something's obviously a miss here... and I don't like how this it turning out."

"Then trust me, I don't think you're going to like what I got to announce to you three now. Sakura Kasugano, Darrell Markis, and Hinata Wakaba."

Letting out startled gasps, the trio turned their attention to a slightly taller Chinese woman in a blue workout shirt and jeans, a brown vest over her shirt with an Interpol badge on her vest. They almost didn't recognize her since her hair was long and without her signature hair buns, but it didn't take TOO long...

"C... Chun-Li...?" Sakura said, raising an eyebrow. Instantly she put her hands up to seem like repelling the agent. "No... No, no, nonononoNO!" She then started shaking her head furiously in protested. "Oh, no! Last time I checked, every time we meet, something BAD happens or starts to happen right afterwards! Please tell me its good news..."

Chun-Li sweatdropped. "Uh... sorry to bust your bubble but-"

"No! I refuse to hear it!" the blossom cut the agent off, cupping her ears and closing her eyes tightly. "You can't make me!"

Darrell, Hinata, Chun-Li, and Ran, who just came from inside, all exchanged embarrassed glances before looking back at Sakura, who was totally not acting like an adult. Darrell then elbowed his wife in the ribs rather sharply, making her howl a bit while holding onto her onto her side.

"Hey! What was that for?" she demanded. Darrell just sighed.

"You mind acting your age? It's sorta embarrassing for someone like you to act like that."

"Oh... Sorry."

Chun-Li cleared her throat and started to continue.

"Anyway... I bet you're wondering just what I'm doing here and what the heck is going on..."

"Well, yeah," Sakura said bluntly.

"While Ace brings these guys to the authorities, I'll tell you... in a less open area.

"Fine then," Darrell started. "We can head to our house. It isn't too far from here and I can take you all back home when we're done."

"That's cool," Ran replied.

"Sure," Hinata said.

"Ok," Chun-Li responded. "Let's hurry. Time's of the essence."

**Hong Kong 4:43 P.M.**

"Mmm... This is it..."

Even though the sidewalks were filled with people moving to their destinations and entrepreneurs selling refreshments in their food carts, a young, blond man just stood in front to a restaurant, letting the breeze from all the people passing rush through his red jacket, which had the symbol of a white star with black wings on the back. He sported black driving gloves and the undershirt, jeans, and shoes to match as well.

Anyone who took time to look at him for a while would wonder a couple of things. The first would be why this foreigner from the states just rode out of nowhere on his motorcycle and abruptly park it in front of the Triple Dragon Restaurant, just to stand there and look at it for over 30 seconds. Second would be what his business there was. However, people on the crowded Hong Kong streets were far too busy to stop their routines for those thoughts. However, the guy was heavy at mind on something... Finally, after a few more passing moments, he stepped inside. The moment he went it...

"Hi!"

"Ey!" he yelped out, jumping away from the sudden voice that rattled his eardrums. He turned his focus to the woman who stood right next to the door, who wore casual clothing and a thin hair band on her head, smiling at him. The blond, almost instantly recognizing who she was, regained his composure and closed his eyes, running a hand through his hair.

"Welcome to the Triple Dragons," she chimed brightly. "My name's Yin. Yin Lee: the Red Dragon of the Lightning. I'll be serving you. May I ask what your name is?"

The American opened his eyes. "Rock... Rock Howard."

"Rock..." Yin said to herself. "That's a pretty simple name; not tied down by western complexity... I like it."

"Thanks... I think..."

"Well, seeing you like the way you are now, you must've come a long way and hungry to boot."

Rock twisted him mouth. "Actually I'm-"

"I really think you'll like what we got here, especially the special dishes I personally make! Best in the area!"

_This is the same timid Yin Lee from 3 years ago that I saw on TV...?_

"Um... that's ok," Rock kindly refused. "Personally, I'm here to see you."

"M... me?" she stuttered, giving him a surprised look. "What do you mean?"

Rock dug into his jacked pocked for a bit and quickly took out a piece of a news paper. Yin just stared at his paper for a second before he spoke again.

"I'm pretty sure you're familiar with the person I'm looking for..." he said before handling her the paper. She flipped it over... and looked back at Rock.

"How could I not know who this is?" she asked. "Sakura's a clear friend of the family. Plus, ever since she became Street Fighter champ, I doubt a person alive hasn't heard of her."

"Well... I was watching the tournament years ago. I was seeing if you knew where I could exactly find out some information on her."

Yin brought down an eyebrow in response. "What do you want with her? She lives all the way in Tokyo. If you wanted to know about her, then you should've traveled there instead."

Rock twisted his mouth again. "At the time of my flight all the flights to Japan were stopped due to some huge hurricane that was threatening to hit and also I didn't want to stay at home and wait it out. Hong Kong was the best I could do, and I got to head towards Shanghai through land to take the clear path to Tokyo."

"Mmm... that's a lot, don't you think?"

The blond just shrugged. "You can't necessarily say I hate sightseeing, either. This is my first time out of the States and on my own at that. There's a lot I want to do before I see her."

Yin paused a bit before saying, "Rock... since you asked me if I knew where Sakura lives, can you tell me why you're going? You're not going to challenger her like everyone else in the world has, are you? I mean that's not a bad thing..."

"Well... first things is that I'm going on far more serious matters. I need to see her to verify some things..."

"Oh..." she said as her eyes adverted to the door. "Watch out, Rock."

Rock looked over a bit and then stepped forward, letting the couple that just stepped in come and face Yin. As they got their warm welcome from the youngest Lee Dragon, Rock's mind started to wander...

_flashback  
  
"Rock...? Where are you going?"_

"...Terry..."

"...you understand, then."

"I can see it in your eyes. Rock, you realize that what happened happened three years ago..."

"I know exactly when it happened... and now that I know exactly where they all live, I'm going to even things up."

"Rock, you also realize that they were brainwashed..."

"...well?"

"I know... but there's something that's still telling me to go. I'm old enough to make my own decisions, Terry."

"Well... I'm not sure what you're getting at, but you're right. You're not a wolf cub anymore. You think you got what it takes to make it out there? Give it your all."

"Thanks... but what about you?"

"I'll just do what I'm good at. You know what that means."

"Yeah... well... I'll be back once I'm done with my business overseas. See ya."

End Flashback

"Rock...? Rock!"

Instantly Rock snapped back to reality, blinking at Yin.

"What's that?" he asked.

"You sorta zoned out..."

"Oh. Sorry."

Yin waved it off. "It's ok. Now... you were saying you needed some information?"

"Yeah."

"What exactly are you looking for?" Home address, occupation...? What?"

"Well... address would be nice."

"I don't suppose you have something to write this down with, do you?"

Rock checked the second of his red jacked pockets for a bit but came up empty.

"Mmm... I think I left my notepad in the motorcycle..."

Yin smiled. "Don't worry about it." She reached to her side and took a small notepad from the clip of her pants and then a pencil from the pocket near it. Rock looked on as she scribbled something on it and when she finished ripped it out.

"This is the exact address," she said, handing it to her. "Also the phone number. Just make sure you call out a good time... if you know what I mean."

"I'll be sure to," he replied, about to grab the paper...

"YIN!"

Yin gasped as both she and Rock looked to their side to see someone bolt from the kitchen door, catching the attention of everyone in the room. He was a bit shorter than Rock, wearing a chef shirt over his jeans and a blue and yellow cap on his head, hiding his eyes. His black hair was set up into a ponytail in the back as well.

"Hey, is that...?" Rock started.

"Brother?" Yin asked, surprised. "What're you-"

Without saying a word, the chef threw his shirt off in one sweep of the hand, exposing a silver and blue short sleeved shirt that broke into 4 ends at the bottom. A second later, he lunged all the way from the other side of the restaurant, his fist out and aiming towards Rock. Thinking fast, Rock ducked, letting the other guy sail out and onto the sidewalk, almost running into some pedestrians while landing.

"What's his problem?" Rock asked on his way back up to his feet. Fortunately, Yin didn't need to answer; her brother did it for her.

"I don't know who you are but you're NOT getting anywhere close to my baby sister that way!" he announced while facing Rock. "You guys are all alike; hitting on young girls like Yin and pretending to be caring... I'm not going to allow that because now I'm too wise for your tricks!"

"Oh, man, this is so embarrassing..." Yin mumbled to herself quietly before calling out, "Yun! It's not what you think it is!"

"You don't know what I'm thinking!" Yun defended. "Did he steal your heart like the others you met?"

Rock raised an eyebrow while Yin heavily blushed. "What...? You think I'm trying to-"

"You're darn right, and I'm going to stop it before it goes any farther! Put 'em up!"

Rock couldn't protest it any longer. Yun came at him with a fist to the face that he blocked. The second one he swatted away while taking a step back towards an empty table. Yun tried to capitalize with a kick to the face, but Rock ducked this one while simultaneously swiping the ground with his right arm...

"REPPUKEN!"

Before Yun could realize what happened, a blue energy attack formed on the carpet and hit him in his supporting leg. The attack made him quickly loose balance and kneel to the floor. Rock then grabbed him by the shirt and threw him up and over his shoulder into the table behind him with authority. Luckily the table didn't shatter but Yun's back was hurt due to the fact that there were various utensils still on it... Yin shuddered as soon as it happened and rushed over to see how Yun was doing.

"Uuuugh..." Yun moaned, even though he knew he could just hop off and continue on trying to get him.

"Yun, stop it, already!" Yin pleaded. "He's not someone trying to be my boyfriend! He came all this way to get some information about someone and something to eat. You need to behave yourself!"

"Yes... That was no way to treat a guest, brother."

This new voice came from the front door, where the middle Dragon of the family appeared, his arms full with groceries and other things. Rock relaxed once he saw the Blue Dragon of the Gale known as Yang Lee, and ran his right hand through his hair.

"Yang Lee, I presume," he started coolly.

"Yes... and you are...?"

"Rock Howard."

"Oh, I see, then." Yang and Rock exchanged a quick handshake before Yang continued. "I hope my brother wasn't too much of a hassle for you. At times he's good at jumping to action without thinking things through..."

Yin giggled when she heard Yun moan in response to that.

"No, it was nothing," Rock reassured. "I don't think he really intended to hurt me, anyway... not acting like that."

"Meh..." Yun interrupted again while sitting up, much to Yin's help.

"So, did you get what you came for?" Yang asked politely.

"Yeah, I did. I better go, now. I better get moving if I want to catch the sites on time."

"What?" Yin asked. "You sure you don't want to-"

"Trust me... I'll be ok. I ate before I came here, but thanks for the hospitality."

Yin frowned. "Ok... If you insist... but if you need a good meal, just stop here, ok?"

Rock smiled back her to cheer her up a bit. "Sure. I will. Later."

With that the American picked up and left past Yang and headed towards his motorcycle. The three dragons looked on as he saddled up and started up the engine. As he revved it up, Yun spoke.

"You know... It's people like him that make me the way I am today..."

"What are you saying. You act just like those 'people' you're talking about, you know," Yin replied. Yun just sighed while reaching to grab his cap and pull it over his eyes... only he only wound up grabbing his own hair in the process.

"What the...?" he gasped, spinning around on the table to see where his signature cap flew off to. Yin just giggled at him...

"You looking for this, brother?" she teased while holding up a finger, which balanced his cap on its tip. Yun twisted his mouth and reluctantly took it.

"You know, I say we follow him. I don't like the vibes I got from him."

"You must be nuts," Yang criticized. "In case you haven't noticed, we run a business here. You can't just up and leave like that anymore. Plus, this is the busy season."

"Yang's right, brother," Yin chimed in. "This is when we make the most money. We can't afford to mess it up all because you're holding a grudge against a stranger."

"First thing's first. I'm not holding a grudge against anyone. Second, I hate it when you two gang up on me like that. Give a pal a break every once in a while, now won't you?"

"Sure..." Yin teased, "that is, if you don't break yourself in the process."

"Alright, you two," Yang broke it up, "I've got some ingredients from the store. You know what that means."

"Yeah. Back to the daily grind. Let's go."

While that was happening, Rock was long gone, riding through the streets of Hong Kong with only one thing in mind...

"Sakura Kasugano... Darrell Markis... Hinata Wakaba... Kaoru Miadama... I'm coming for all of you. Prepare yourselves..."

**Shanghai, China - _Flashback - 5 hours ago_**

_"Father! Father! What's wrong with you? Why are you attacking me!"_

"Shut up, fool! Your talk means nothing to me! Just fight me!"

I don't want to admit that I was crying, but I was... Despite how everyone looks up to me, I was crying. Tears ran down my eyes as I tried my best to avoid my father's attacks. I couldn't believe that the same man that raised me and loved me was trying to rip me limb from limb. Everything seemed like a normal day of training in the home garden until I hear crashes from the inside of my house. Since I was the only person home except for my father, I thought either something happened to him or someone tried to break in. Things turned out that neither happened at all... I rush inside the private sparring room of our house and unexpectedly get ambushed by my own father.

Out of our family of 5, my mother, father, me, and 2 other siblings, my father was the wisest and kindest of them all. He was even kind enough to teach his three kids the martial arts while they were young. Throughout my 21 years alive I always knew him as a gentle man, even in combat. I don't think he ever once did anything in anger. Everyone in Shanghai knew that, no matter what would happen to him or his family. That's... sorta why I think I was crying... because I knew this couldn't very well be my father. Somehow, it might look like him, but his soul wasn't there...

As much as I knew that, I couldn't bare to fight back. I didn't want to hurt him despite what he was going... Correction-what he was trying to do. I managed to avoid him as much as I could while trying to talk him out of his sudden rage.

"Snap... out of... it...!" I yelled, having no other choice but to try to fend him off. "What's... wrong... with you?"

"Shut up and fight, woman!" he barked his response, his entire body moving in a blur as he worked on my defense. Each blow he threw and I blacked was harder than the last but despite what he was doing, he must have forgotten that he taught me all that I know. I blacked it all and it must have made him even angrier. He let out a yell as he drew back to give me a mighty blow. I started to block this attack until I, for once, clearly saw his face... and I grew wide-eyed. His expression was pure fury and his eyes were unreal. They both were crimson red... as if possessed by the devil... Something snapped inside my brain and it made me stay where I was, planted between the wall and him... I saw his fist come down... and I convinced myself...

There was only one way to end it.

Playtime ended right there... Before he could strike me down I spun around in the little space I had and unleashed a hard roundhouse kick to his neck within a blink of an eye. I hit cleanly and my 'father' drew back instantly, holding his neck with both hands. I saw my opening and, as I was taught, took advantage.

"WHAAA!"

I pushed my back off the wall and attacked with a fist right to his face. He reeled away in recoil but I wasn't about to let up. Another fist rained down on his face, causing his head to drop and meet my knee. That stunned him enough for me to turn around, charge up my leg...

"You're..."

Then I spun back around, jumping off the floor as my leg sliced the air...

"FINISHED!"

...and connected with all my strength. The force blew him off his feet and to the ground in a heap. I stood firm for a few more moments, waiting if he was going to stand up yet again. Luckily, I confidently gave a relieved sigh... that quickly turned into a gasp. I ran up to my father's body, kneeled down, and checked his face. I bruised it up pretty badly but what shocked me was the sudden black aura that shot out around his body. My senses wanted me to jump away but I didn't. Why would he have an aura...? No on in the family...

As the aura died down I raised a hand and opened one of his eyelids.

"It's..." I started to whisper to myself. "The redness... It's dying down..."

I could see a bit of his iris showing up over time. I then checked his pulse.

"He's still alive..."

I just sat there, staring at my father's fallen body for a while before I shook it clean.

"I got to get you to a hospital.."  
  
_End Flashback_ **- Current time: 5:00 P.M**

"Mei-Ling..."

A young woman sat at her father's bedside, her eyes closed as her mind tried to think about what happened earlier that day. Her father had just woken up from unconsciousness and he was glad to see her oldest daughter at his side. The woman had long, shining black hair that ended in a slight braid from her neck to her shoulder and urban clothes, her carrying bag resting near her chair. Her fist was clenched and she defiantly having a heavy train of thought. Her father knew that as well...

"Father," she started, her eyes opening and looking at him, "you need to tell me... What happened to you?"

A pause...

"I can't tell you that," he responded. "Someone like you shouldn't get involved in such things."

"You need to tell me," she repeated sternly. "I was - no. I won't even go into that. What I'm saying is that you were not yourself at all. You were ravenous... You tried to kill me! How can you say that I shouldn't know what happened?"

"Calm down, Mei-Ling..."

"But fa-"

"Calm..." he said again, this time a lot more strongly. Mei-Ling bit her lower lip, her heart aching to know the cause of all those events. Her father closed his eyes a bit and sighed, then looked back at his daughter.

"There's a reason why I say such things. I don't want you to go off on a path of revenge-"

"Oh! So it's a someone," Mei-Ling cut him off, her eyes hardening.

"You're not listening..." her father said, shaking his head. "I'm just trying to protect you from a bad road. Trust me."

"Father... Haven't you seen the news? This is becoming a worldwide epidemic! Shanghai, Tokyo, Paris, London, Mexico City... and the worst place is the United States. People are turning into psychopaths and you're one of them! You need to tell me! Maybe it could lead the police to who it is. I'm not just saying this for myself. It could help the world out since almost all the cases around the world had the infected person dead. You survived... Just tell me and I'll tell the police. You can trust me."

"Mmm... I'd rather tell them myself than trust you. In your current state-"

"Father, the police won't stop here until tomorrow morning. They're handling another crisis. By that time the people responsible are getting away with murder. Listen to reason, father... You have no choice but to tell me."

Silence quickly settled in the room again as the two stared at one another, the sounds of the machine monitoring the father's vital signs and the random calls on the intercom the only exceptions. He then nodded at her and moved over a bit in his hospital bed.

"Fine. You win, Mei-Ling. I'll tell you, only because you do speak some logic. At this moment I wish I was at full strength to handle this myself... but... Anyway... I was at the refreshment restaurant downtown like I always do everyday. I ordered the usual: a Mango de Rilo and the first thing I noticed was that Rico, the guy who usual works at the stand, wasn't there. The cover-guy... um... Shin. He said he went on vacation. I said 'fine'. So he asks me some questions and other menial stuff as he served me. I drank it and it seemed a bit less sweet than normal. I asked him what's wrong with this drink and he says that he wasn't exactly keen on that drink. I said 'Ok. Forget about it'. Went on about my business and came back home to relax before you came home from wherever... but as I came in... I'm not sure. I think I blacked out or something."

Mei-Ling took a while to think it over. "That guy... at the restaurant... It sounds sorta suspicious to me. I think you might have gotten a drug slipped into the drink."

Her father raised an eyebrow. "Now why would-"

"Father, people all over are succumbing to that drug. It's literally all over the place. Average people... and so far I... just... These people who are doing this haven't been identified, so you know their reasons are shrouded."

"Yes... Right."

Mei-Ling sighed and stood up, brushing her pants off with one hand and grabbing her bag with the other.

"I just want this to stop. You're able to help and you just did. I'm off. Take care, ok?"

"Fine, Mei-Ling... You just take care as well..."

The woman nodded and headed off the door... but just as she reached for the door...

"And Mei-Ling?"

"Yes, father?" she asked while looking back. He looked into his daughter's eyes, making her heart drop. Although the red vanished from his eyes, there was still something about that look that made her wary...

"I... know I can't stop you from possible going off and handling business by yourself. You're old enough to make your own decisions. I'm only giving you some wise advice. Nevertheless, whatever you choose to do with that information... just be careful."

Mei-Ling only nodded and then existed the hospital room and into the small corridor. A few of her relatives were waiting on her in the waiting chairs to the side, her mother standing up to hug her daughter tight.

"Mei-Ling... Is he ok?"

"Yes. Just fine. Mother... I'm sorry to cut this short, but I got to leave now."

Her mother pushed away from her and ran a hand through her daughter's hair. "Why's that?"

"I have some business to take care of for father. I'm not sure when I'll be back, so don't wait up on me, ok?"

"You be careful. If I know any better, I know exactly what you're planning on doing."

Mei-Ling nodded slowly and then started to run out, but an arm shot in her path and stopped her. It came from the last chair and it belonged to her older brother, Shun. He looked like the father, even sporting the wrinkles in the stern look that he gave his sister. Mei-Ling let out a scowl. The two of them never got along...

"I don't like it," he said bluntly. "I should be settling this, not you."

"And what do you think you can do?" Mei-Ling shot back while swatting his arm away. "You don't know enough about this to do anything about it."

"Why are you making this difficult? I'm the oldest and best fighter in our family. You'll mess it up. Tell me what you know and I'll handle everything quick."

"This isn't the time to go throw your weight around! I could've been out this hospital and on my way to the police by now! Move!"

"The... police?" Shun repeated slowly before shaking his head. "You really must have lost it. The Shanghai police can't do much about this. The only way to handle this is to leave it to me."

"Look... I can get past you two ways; either you shut your mouth and let me pass or I'll make you eat my shoes and then let myself through!"

Both siblings stared hard into the other's eyes, the tensions between them as thick as fog. However, before their mother could break it up, another voice rang through the air.

"Mei-Ling! Shun! Stop it, the both of you!"

Both instantly snapped out of it and turned their attention to their younger sister, Jiao... and other young woman. She was roughly the same size as Mei-Ling but had short, light brown hair that was recently cut. The younger woman, Jiao, was shorter and a bit thinner, holding up a bag of groceries for her father. It was Jiao's voice that broke up the argument between her older siblings and her mother was grateful that she did.

"Must you two bicker over such things?" her light voice asked. "Think about father. How would he feel if he saw you two going at it again this time?"

Although Shun rolled his eyes, Mei-Ling sighed in defeat and said, "Right. I better go now and give the information to the police. You coming, Fen?"

The older of the two women that showed up nodded. "As ever. Let's go."

As Mei-Ling passed her brother and flashed him a glance, she joined up with her friend as Jiao went in to visit up with her father. The two friends went down another corridor which led to a lobby of elevators where other people were waiting for the transporters to appear. As they waited, Mei- Ling looked at her friend's new haircut and smirked.

"Nice cut..." she said sarcastically. Fen rolled her eyes and sighed hard.

"Mei, you know I hate getting my haircut. I just don't feel like myself when it's like this."

"I don't know... Maybe you should keep it like this."

"Oh, stop it!" Fen said playfully. "I thought I was supposed to be the comedian in our little two-some."

"Mei-Ling shrugged as the elevator in front of them opened, luckily empty. "Roles change, huh?"

"Whatever," Fen sighed again and after feeling her short brown hair once more, accompanied her friend on the elevator. As the doors closed, Fen looked at Mei-Ling again and asked, "So how's your father?"

"He's coming along..."

"Did he tell you...?"

"...yes, he did."

Fen's eyes lit up right after that. "Really? Seriously? Haha! That's perfect! Now we can start on finding those brats responsible for all this mess. I can't go one day without hearing about another psycho!"

"Yeah... I know... it's got to stop. I just hope we can make an impact out of all this."

"You kidding? Come on! We're two of the greatest martial arts girls this side of Chun-Li in Shanghai! We're going to make a big impact on this drug crackdown. I just know we will!"

"I... hehe... I guess you're right." Mei-Ling then held out a hand to Fen, who confidently grabbed it. "Let's go make an impact."

**25 minutes later  
**  
"Is this it, Mei-Ling?"

"Yes. Father always goes here for his afternoon drink."

The sounds of downtown rang loudly in the girls' ears as they stared at the place that Mei-Ling's father called the "Refreshment Restaurant.' It was the place that was totally dedicated to selling rinks off all types. Personally, Mei-Ling only went here for shakes every now and then. Through the doors they could see customers taking, drinking and enjoying themselves.

"Ready, Fen?"

"Yeah."

And with that they went inside. The first thing they wanted to lay eyes on was the cashier stand. Mei-Ling, in particular, looked at the employee name tags for the one called "Shin". However, before they could really get to look, the young man at the register called them.

"May I help you, ladies?"

Both turned their attention to the short-haired worker and Mei-Ling spoke.

"We're just looking around."

"Oh... well, I could suggest some things if you like."

Mei-Ling shook her head. "It's ok. Really."

"Hmm... You must be new here. Really. I could help you find something you can really enjoy."

"Lis-"

"Mmmmm..." Fen cut her off, "Whatever you got here, it sure smells nice... I think its cherry..."

The employee's eyes lit up at that. "Right. It's today's special. Sweet Cherry Smoothie."

Fen made her way past Mei-Ling and dug into her jean pockets, looking for something. Mei-Ling, on the other hand, was stumped.

_"What does the think she's doing...?"_

"I'll take one!" Fen said while slamming her hand onto the counter and showing the money to the cashier. The employee smiled happily and gratefully took it.

"Thanks. One second."

THUD...

Fen jumped at the sudden crash. She turned around and found her friend on the ground, anime-style. Both her and the cashier sweatdropped.

"Is she ok?" he asked.

"Yeah... I guess... Just give me my smoothie, ok?"

"Sure."

As the clerk went off and started preparing the beverage, Mei-Ling got up in a blur, staring Fen down intensively.

"You think when you got your hair cut you cut your brain as well?" she asked.

Fen gave a clueless look while rubbing her hair. "I don't understand what you mean."

"What were you thinking when you ordered that? Don't you think you're forgetting something?"

Mei-Ling twisted her mouth as Fen thought about it a bit, and then it hit her.

"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot!"

Just then the young employee came back with the beverage...

"Um... excuse me," Fen said politely, "but... could you add whipped cream at the top, please?"

THUD...

"Are you sure she's ok?" the guy asked, once again seeing Mei-Ling fallen over body.

"She gets like that some times." Fen sighed. The guy shook his head and then headed back to put the whipped cream in her drink.

"I... don't think you're getting what I'm saying..." Mei-Ling muttered as she got back up, giving her friend a dull look.

"You can say that again... Oh! Here he comes."

As the clerk came back with the drink, Mei-Ling only shook her head.

"I can't believe-uh? Wait a second..."

Mei-Ling just barely got a glance at the employee's name tag before he went towards the back of the restaurant... and her eyes widened.

"FEN!"

Fen just looked over to her, about to take a sip out of her smoothie before Mei-Ling snatched it from her.

"Hey! I paid for that, you know! If you wanted one, you should've asked!"

"No, dodo," Mei-Ling said. "Not that... The guy who served you the drink! He's..."

Mei-Ling whipped her head around at the sudden sound of commotion behind the counter... and just barely saw the door to the outside swing open and the clerk run out.

"Hey!" she shouted while instinctively jumping over the counter herself and following right after him. Fen just looked around at the people who were staring at her and then she looked at her smoothie... She then heaved a sigh and ran after them, smoothie in hand.

By that time, Mei-Ling was hot on the guy's trail, following him through rough traffic and across the street. Desperate to get away, the clerk knocked down people who were it his way as well as stands, all in which she avoided and jumped over skillfully to keep up.

"You're not getting away from me, Shin!" she shouted confidently. "You've got some explaining to do!"

The guy let out a frustrated groan as he crossed another street, nearly getting run over by a car. He barely avoided it by jumping forward and Mei- Ling did the same as it screeched to a halt.

"This guy's a nut...!" Mei-Ling thought as she started to close the gap between her and Shin. Just as she started to reach out and grab him, Shin stopped on a dime and ducked, making Mei-Ling fall over his back and on her back on the ground. Thinking fast, the kung-fu girl rolled forward while getting to her feet, just to see Shin jolt in reverse.

"Damn!" she cursed, just about to run back after him, but he screeched to a halt...due to the fact that Fen was right there to block him off. Shin let out a growl as she stepped backwards, caught in between the two women and no where to run.

"Mei!" Fen shouted, "You mind explaining what's going on?"

"He's the one!" Mei-Ling informed. "He's the one who drugged my father with that psycho drug!"

Fen's eyes grew wide and she instantly looked at her smoothie and threw it away. "I can't believe I almost drank that!"

"Tch! You girls might be smart, but obviously not smart enough..."

Mei-Ling gave Shin a serious look. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Shin let out a chuckle while looking over his shoulder to Mei-Ling, grinning evilly. "Yeah, so I'm the one who spread the Psycho Drug all throughout Shanghai. So what? You can't stop me. You can't stop the new age from spreading..."

"Oh, come on!" Fen groaned. "This is something you hear in the movies! It's so tacky! How about you give up now and tell us all that you know? It's a heck of a lot easier that way. Also I don't need to get my clothes dirty."

"Oh... is that so...?" Shin asked while looking at Fen, his sly smile intact. Fen just looked at him while Mei-Ling saw movement in his right arm...

"Watch out, Fen!"

"What?"

"YAH!"

Fen hit the deck the moment Shin's arm reached out of his pant pocket and fired from a semi-automatic pistol. The sound was deafening and it even startled Mei-Ling even though he wasn't firing at her. Instantly she rushed Shin from behind, grabbing him by the neck, trying to throw him down. Shin grunted while struggling a bit, his finger accidentally pulling the trigger once more and a wild shot flew into the air.

"He's nuts!" someone from nearby shouted as a huge commotion started on the street. People started ducking for cover while another shot fired into the air. Fen herself stayed low, rolling behind a nearby parked car while her friend tried to take Shin down. Luckily she was sitting behind the car since the next wild shot blasted through the windshield.

"Oh, man! What did we get ourselves into...?" she muttered to herself. Breathing in deeply, she then looked over the side to see Mei-Ling swing her arm over Shin's, making the gun point backwards as it fired again.

"Here's my chance," Fen said to herself and dashed out from behind the car, rushing Shin head-on. The clerk growled as he knew he was vulnerable... and even tried to give Mei-Ling a swift kick to a place someone wasn't meant to be kicked. However, Mei-Ling clearly saw it coming and blocked it with her own leg, giving Fen enough time to get close, swing her right arm across her chest...

"YAAAAAH!"

...and give Shin a heavy strike with her fist, the impact literally booming throughout the air. Shin gagged as he dropped the gun, which made a clatter noise as it dropped onto the sidewalk and out of harms way.

"Hey!" Fen said while putting a hand on Shin's chin. "What's that you say? Mei, I think he said that we couldn't stop him..."

"Yes, he did," Mei-Ling confirmed while tightening the hold on Shin, making him yell out in pain from being in an uncomfortable position of so long. Fen smiled big as she looked Shin in the eyes.

"That look you're giving me... I don't like it. It screams-"

Before he knew it, Shin's head whipped to his side, his cheek quickly swelling up from the force of Fen's full hand across his face.

"Slap!" she finished, grabbing his chin and making him face her. "Now spill it! Who do you work for, huh? Who's your boss? What is that stuff you use to make everyone go crazy around here? Oh... and most important of all... Where are you guys set up at?"

Shin gave a forced laugh in response. "You think that all because you got me unarmed makes me liable to speak? You're more naïve than I thought you were, woman."

Fen's eyebrow twitched instantly. "Oh, so now I'm naïve, huh?" She raised her free hand up to for a fist. "How would you like another one of my Yamenekosougi blows? Would that make you change your opinion?"

"Fen," Mei-Ling interrupted, "We're not getting anywhere. I think it's better if we get the police to interrogate this guy."

"Sure," Fen replied lightly while shrugging. "Why not? Perhaps you're right about that much... but-"

Fen instantly stopped when the sounds of police cars reached her. She smirked while looking back at Shin.

"You hear that? That's the sound of your ticket to jail, bub. Hope you enjoy it."

Shin lowered his head and shook it, not from shame, but more from embarrassment. "Women these days..." He then looked up towards the rooftops for a while... and his eyes rested on the roof of a Laundromat.

"What are you looking at?" Fen asked while turning to look herself, only to see nothing.

"Just the skies," Shin replied smugly. "It's going to be a while until I see it again, I guess..."

Fen just sighed. "Whatever, weirdo..."

**Meanwhile...**

"Did you get the lock on them?"

"Yes... Info's right here. Shadowloo needed the data on these girls for quite a while."

"Should we bail out Shin?"

"Nah... He's fine. Jail's something he welcomes."

"And what if he on. It won't matter, anyway. The way things are running, who cares if one player of the game loses. Ultimately Shadowloo's going to walk away the winner, so you better get ready to retire."

"...whatever you say..."

"Come on. I'm not being paid to just sit around. Let's go."


	4. Unexpected Visits

Author's Note: In case you haven't noticed, you might've noticed that when I update, they'll be errors. Well, I just wanted to let you know that I put up the glitch draft for concept review purposes. I do go back and put up the clean version, which Chan Yoruyamatiha proofreads and sends back to me to update. In other words, I'm telling you guys to ignore any errors you see in updates spelling-wise. We clean up our messes in due time.

**_CHAPTER 4: UNEXPECTED VISITS_**  
  
**South Town, USA: 4:30 P.M.**  
  
Outside of a local music store in the Eastbound stood a young woman who had just exited the store. She had on white jeans and a blue & red striped shirt and sneakers, all accompanied by a pair of sunglasses on her navy blue hair. A CD player sat in one hand, a soda in the other, and headphones already set on her ears. The woman lazily looked both ways down the busy street to find a path clear for her to walk through. Once she found it, May Lee was ready to go.  
  
It was a rather boring day out for her. All she did was spend a bunch of her money on clothes in the morning and now CDs in the afternoon. As she sipped her soda again as she reached the other side of the street, her thoughts were laid on the new circuit that going to start up in a months. It seemed to be a lot more interesting than to just lay around all day like she had been doing for the past few weeks.  
  
{_...mmm... I wonder what Master Kim is doing now...}_ she thought, unconsciously making her head in the direction of his dojo. Normally when she was bored, that's what she'd do; visit her master and observe his moves and the way the students were training themselves. Most of the time, May Lee would even spar with whoever would take her on. Whenever she was there, she never had a dull moment.  
  
She officially made up her mind and started to sprint through the light crowd on the sidewalks towards the heart of the Eastbound.

_{I hope you're not busy, Master, because I'm coming to visit you right now!}  
_  
Luckily she didn't need to travel far. The Tae Kwon Do for the Ages Dojo was only a few blocks away from her current position, right where the main plaza of the Eastbound was located. She quickly covered the ground between her and the dojo, quickly sipping on her soda in the process. Just as she got to the corner where she was supposed to turn, it grew apparent that the drink wouldn't last all the way there. Without skipping a beat May Lee tossed the bottle in a nearby garbage can and worked her way up the hill. A smile found its way onto her face as she saw the plaza gradually increase as she got closer. The grin even widened when she caught sight of a crowd looking on at an event taking place right there.  
  
{_It seems I got here just in time,}_ she thought. _{It must be a spar for the students to be out like this.}_  
  
She didn't need to see it herself to know that she was right. She could her Master Kim's battle cries over everything else, even her headphones. While still running, May Lee decided to go on and make a great entrance... by plowing her way through the people in her way.  
  
"Excuse me! Coming through! Sorry! Watch yourself! One way, people, one way!"  
  
"Geez, May, pushy, aren't we?"  
  
The moment she got to the other side, she couldn't even get a glimpse of the action without a hand grabbing hers and pulling her down towards the ground. Startled, May Lee almost dropped her brand new CD player but she luckily grabbed it before it could hit the ground. Giving a sigh of relief, May Lee quickly gave a sigh of frustration, due to who pulled her in the first place.  
  
"Dong Hwan," she started, looking Kim's older son in the eyes, "I wish you wouldn't do that."  
  
Dong Hwan just shrugged as he sat on the ground, wearing his black and red- striped gi, and gave May Lee a smirk. "I was expecting a more grateful welcome from someone like you."  
  
"You expect me to be grateful for almost breaking my CD pl-"  
  
"HANGETSUZAN!"  
  
May's sentence was sidetracked by Kim's mighty voice. She turned her head just in time to see her master fly through the air while performing a front flip, attacking a man in a white karate gi and red headband. It only took a few moments for May Lee to recognize who was on the defensive.  
  
"Hey, is that the famous Ryu?" she asked Dong Hwan.  
  
"Yeah... You could say that..."  
  
May's eyes lit up. "Wow! This ought to be an exciting spar! I knew I didn't run all the way up here for nothing!"  
  
Dong Hwan frowned a bit. "You mean you didn't come here to see me?"  
  
"Don't you have a girlfriend or five that you should be concerned about?"  
  
"What's that supposed to mean??"  
  
"It means I wish you'd stop trying to hit on me when you're already over your weight in relationships," May Lee responded while still looking at the battle. "I mean, come on. What if I had a boyfriend of my own? That'll just make you look stupid."  
  
Dong Hwan just rolled his eyes. "That's highly unlikely... Me? Looking stupid? Sure, May. Sure..."  
  
May Lee was about to counter that but was cut off as she saw Ryu toss Kim in a textbook-perfect over-the-shoulder throw. Quickly Kim got back to his feet to block an overhead fist and then crouched down to deliver his Comet Cruncher kick. He slid down to try to knock Ryu off his feet with the first sweep, but Ryu blocked. Too late to abort the attack, Kim quickly lifted into the air and threw a fast overhead kick...  
  
"SHORYUKEN!"  
  
...only to get knocked out of it by Ryu's Dragon Punch. Kim sailed through the air but once again landed on the ground perfectly. Ryu took the time to charge up a blue orb of energy in his hands...  
  
"HADOUKEN!"  
  
...and pitched it forward. Kim had plenty of time to avoid the move and did, jumping into the air towards Ryu...  
  
"HISSOUKYAKU!"  
  
...and came down with a fast barrage of alternating kicks. Oddly, he was still out of range, but he landed quickly in front of Ryu and worked on his guard with a few quick kicks. Just as Ryu was about to counter, Kim ducked down...  
  
"HIENZAN!"  
  
...and shot up with a rising flip kick, hitting Ryu's chin and making him shoot backwards towards the ground. Ryu recovered quickly and threw some counter attacks of his own as Kim came close. The Tae Kwon Do fighter wisely blocked the attacks then strafed around Ryu, testing him out. The Ansatsuken fighter, in response, brought his fist up and paused, making Kim hesitate just slightly, allowing him to take the downward strike. Quickly Ryu ducked down and gave a kick to the legs, then...  
  
"TATSUMAKI SENPU KYAKU!"  
  
...his hurricane kick, knocking Kim away with the force of a semi-truck. Kim fell down fully after that attack, triggering a slight applause of respect from the students that were watching. May Lee kept her eyes on her master as he took his time sitting up, a hand on his jaw.  
  
"Not too shabby..." Kim started. "You're just like the rumors said you were."  
  
"The same goes for you," Ryu started, not backing down.  
  
_{Wow... Ryu is good...} _May Lee thought while at the same time swatting Dong Hwan's hand away from her shoulder, making him pout.

_{Is she always this testy?}_ he asked himself.  
  
Meanwhile, Kim was back on his feet and back on the offensive, coming in with an overhead kick. Ryu blocked that and the hard roundhouse kick after it, and then backed off just a bit. He then shot back at Kim with a strong straight kick, the Joudan Sokutougeri, but Kim was a step in front of him, parrying the kick... and ducking under the kick, taking advantage of the recovery time to give a hard kick to the chin, then...  
  
"KUUSAGIN!!!"  
  
...shot into the air with three spinning kicks, the last one hitting Ryu farther into the air. Kim landed before Ryu could, and took advantage of it.  
  
"HOU'OU KYAKU!!!"  
  
Kim dashed to where he'd land and started his famous barrage of lightning fast kicks with no room to defend or evade. About 16 hits later, Kim ended with a Hien Zan, once again hitting the World Warrior into the air. Kim then waited for him to come back down before ending with another Hien Zan. The moment Ryu hit the ground the students were showing their applause towards Kim for his damaging combo. May Lee was ecstatic.  
  
"Alright! That's the pepper!" she shouted out loud. "He's bound to be down and out after that!"  
  
She managed to catch a glance of Kim looking out of the corner of his eye to look at her then he looked back towards Ryu, putting his hands on his sides.  
  
"I wouldn't be so sure about that..." he said cautiously.  
  
"Huh? What do you-"  
  
"Just watch, May..."  
  
Sure enough, startling May Lee, Ryu was surely getting back up. He couldn't hide the fact that he took some serious damage, but he certainly looked like he could take more. He signified that by getting back into his fighting stance. Kim nodded then shot forward in a Hangetsu Zan. Ryu opted to parry but his body slightly hesitated, forcing himself to block instead. Kim recovered from his move and then brought his leg up and threw it forward in a strong kick that narrowly missed Ryu's guard. Ryu noticed that this was the beginning of Kim's stance switch and took action accordingly. He parried Kim's next kick, giving him room to dash in close and deliver a counter hit, followed by a quick Shoryuken. This time, however, he never really left the ground. He super canceled, quickly summoning a large amount of his ki energy into his hands.  
  
"Shinku.... Hadouken!!"  
  
Ryu then launched his famous super attack at close range to accompany the Shoryuken, the force blasting Kim to the ground. Luckily, due to the super cancel properties, the move didn't do nearly as much damage as Kim's chain, but it still did quite a bit. Applause ran through the air as Kim once again flipped to his feet, smiling as usual.  
  
"Aaaahhh..." he sighed, slightly holding his chest to where the full force of the Shoryuken lay, "can't take a lot of those without being a little sore... I do believe that we're done with the test. How about we get down to the real reason as to why I called you."  
  
Ryu nodded. That signified the end of the sparring match as a majority of the students either went back inside to continue their session or to get their belonging to head home. May Lee rose to her feet, grabbing her possessions, and made her way to her sensei as the two warriors met in the center of plaza.  
  
"May Lee! It's a pleasure to see you again," Kim smiled. "What brings you here?"  
  
"Boredom, mostly," the young fighter responded. "I also came to visit since I was in the neighborhood."  
  
"That's swell, since I do believe that I know what you're going to say once I'm through talking to Ryu, here." Kim then looked over to Ryu and breathed deeply. "I'm not sure if you're in contact with the news, but there's something horrible awry happening all over the world. Have you noticed anything... out of the ordinary in your travels?"  
  
Ryu took a slight pause to think it over, and then responded with, "I can't seriously say that I have... although I do notice a disturbance within the winds as of late. That... normally means that something's not right..."  
  
Kim's eyes have a serious glare. "Well, I must tell you. People of all over are becoming crazy. Absolutely psycho. They've turned into murderers, criminals, vandalists... It's hardly safe to travel without running into one of those freaks. Worst of yet, that worldwide crime syndicate, Shadowloo, is back and under no good again."  
  
Ryu's mouth twisted as soon as that sentence crossed him. "And I thought things would've been finished with them out of commission..."  
  
_{And I thought NESTS was tough...}_ May Lee thought, clenching her fist.  
  
"I'm not sure what's going on," Kim stated, "but I can tell that it's not a good thing. The authorities can only do but so much... Ryu, I would like to ask you to assist me in bringing these criminals down. What do you say?"  
  
Kim's request was met by a moment of silence from Ryu. He crossed him arms and closed his eyes, obviously thinking hard about the matter; about its advantages and disadvantages. He also reminded himself of the events that happened a few years ago when he last confronted Shadowloo.... After a few moments, Ryu opened his eyes.  
  
"When did you consider going about this?"  
  
"The moment I got word of these fiends resurfacing."  
  
"I see... I do have some unfinished business to pick with the head of that organization..."  
  
"So is that a yes?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Kim flashed another of his famous sparkling smiles. "That's excellent. We'll leave whenever you're ready. I'm sure Jae Hoon can take care of things here."  
  
"What about me?" May Lee's bright voice shot out. "If you're going to serve justice then I want to come along as well."  
  
Just as the thought of saying no to that entered Ryu's mind, Kim cut him off. "That'd be nice of you to come. It would also serve well in your training. I hope you're prepared to go along with this."  
  
"As a servant to justice, I won't back down from such a task," May Lee stated confidently. She then looked up towards Ryu and confidently clenched her fist. "It'd also be an honor to fight along side you."  
  
"I see..." Ryu said. "A strong fighting spirit... Alright, Kim, what do you have planned for this trip?"  
  
_Flashback_  
  
_"Are you sure? I mean... Isn't it rather sudden to go on and leave us like that?"  
  
"Sakura... Thanks for letting me live here. You really made me one of the family. It's just that..."  
  
"That what?"  
  
"Well... It's that I've got a lot of unfinished business to attend to. There's a lot of questions that I need to answer... and in order for me to do that, I need to go."  
  
"We can at least come along with you."  
  
"No, I can't let you do that. I... don't know why, but this is something that I want to tackle without your help. If things really get tight, I'll call you, but..."  
  
"I get it. Well, little sis, I'm going to say what my mom told me when I did the same thing over 10 years ago."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"I'm not going to stop you. You just be careful out there. I don't want you to wind up dead or something."  
  
"Don't worry. I've got too much to accomplish to come up empty handed out there. Besides... there's someone out there waiting for me... I better go."  
  
"Keep in touch, ok?"  
  
"I will! Bye Sakura! Bye Darrell!"  
  
"See you later, Kaoru! See you when the circuit starts up for sure!"  
  
"You might just see me before then, and when we do meet again, expect us to be rivals!"  
  
End Flashback  
_  
**Pyongyang, North Korea 5:30 P.M.**  
  
_{Wow... Such a large city... I hope I can find him before evening...}_  
  
Sporting a denim jacket which was zipped up halfway to expose the black undershirt, short black hair that was really unkempt for the past few months, gray shorts, and black sneakers, 21 year old Kaoru Miadama made her way through the streets of Pyongyang, North Korea's capital. She had just arrived after many weeks of traveling throughout Asia, all with a small piece of paper which held directions towards an address. The sky was a beautiful orange-red, already signaling that the sun was about to set for the day. As she reached a red stoplight, she only sighed, closing her eyes tightly. She forced an image of the person that she was looking for into her mind, her hands clenching as she did so.  
  
_{It's been too long, Yui...}_ she muttered. _{It's been almost 4 years since I last saw you...}_  
  
She opened her eyes just in time to see the light change to green, permitting her to walk on without any problems. As she crossed, she looked over to the far side next to her to see the river that ran through all of Pyongyang, the sun's evening rays reflecting off its surface. Breathing deeply, Kaoru looked at the set of directions in her hand and glanced around once she safely crossed.  
  
**{Now... turn right and look for house number 76...}**  
  
Kaoru looked up and found the nearest house number to her. Her heart started to pound.  
  
_{Great... 52. It won't be long now...}_  
  
For once in almost forever, Kaoru smiled. Just a few more minutes and she'll be reunited with her husband.  
  
_{Maybe I should teleport there... No... People are around. They'll know I'm a Street Fighter. Plus, I want to make the suspense last.}_  
  
She didn't get far, however. She couldn't take a step forward without stopping at the curve, staring straight forward.

{_Come on.... Not now... Why do I put up with such things... Well... Might as well get this out the way...}_  
  
"You've been following me for the past hour..." she said out loud. "I know you're there. Show yourself."  
  
It was quiet save for the natural sounds of the streets, but the message got across, as a voice responded back from behind her.  
  
"I had a feeling that it was you. Kaoru Miadama, I've got some things to ask you."  
  
"Well, make it quick," she responded, turning around to meet a young man around her age, redheaded, and wearing street clothes. He was a bit taller than her and from the looks of it, a fighter in his own right. Kaoru sighed.  
  
"What do you want with me?" she asked sternly. The redhead nodded his head and continued.  
  
"First, I'll introduce myself. My name's Wang. People know me as a rising star in the fighting circuit."  
  
"Oh, really..." Kaoru responded unenthusiastically. "Let me guess... You're either looking for a date or a fight, and I'll tell you right now I don't have time for either."  
  
"No, that's not it," Wang responded. "I'll try to make this quick."  
  
The guy reached into his jean pocket and pulled out a photograph. From where he was, Kaoru could see the image clearly.  
  
"This man... Have you seen him?"  
  
The photo showed an image of Wang and another older man, Wang in particular giving a thumbs-up to the camera. Kaoru took a while to look at it then asked, "And this guy would be....?"  
  
"My father. He disappeared a few weeks ago and I've been all over asking around this city to find out some clues."  
  
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't know this guy. Never came across him."  
  
"Oh... are you sure?"  
  
"I'm pretty much so," Kaoru replied limply. "Now, I'll see you around. I need to go see someone."  
  
Wang didn't reply right away, so Kaoru went on and went on her way. A few seconds later, Wang called out again.  
  
"Hey, wait up!"  
  
Kaoru gave an aggravated sigh and turned around. "What's the problem now?"  
  
"I know you know something... I have been following you, and you've been acting very suspicious ever since I say you. Tell me where you're going!"  
  
"I don't have time for this... Why can't you get it through your head? If I knew, then I'd tell you!"  
  
"I don't know you that well! For all I know, you could be lying!"  
  
Kaoru let out another moan. "Look, you can believe what you want, but I'm not going to stand here and talk to a brick wall."  
  
Just as she spun around, about to go on and just go on without paying any attention to the guy, he made her pay attention. She heard wind slice her and ducked, missing a swift kick to the head. As she spun around, putting the piece of paper in her right hand into her jacket pocket and dropping her bag, Wang recovered from his miss and went into his fighting stance undaunted.  
  
"You've got some serious issues..." Kaoru muttered. "You already got your answer, but yet in still you don't want to go away empty-handed. I'll tell you what; I'll give you something to write to your dad about...."  
  
Within a blink of an eye, Kaoru's body zipped behind Wang, starting him. He never got a chance to figure out what happened, as the next thing he knew, a powerful roundhouse kick slammed into his cheek, making him fly onto a resident's small lawn. Kaoru just scoffed as she watched Wang shake his head clear, slowly getting to his feet.  
  
"You sure not the fighter that you claim yourself to be..."  
  
As if that sent off an alarm in his mind, Wang let out a sneer, jumping up to his feet.  
  
"So you want to see how good I am? Then meet my super technique and I guarantee it'll make you change your mind!"  
  
He then braced himself, letting out a long yell. The proper thing to do if someone was on the defensive was to get ready to guard, but in this case, Kaoru didn't even bother. She stood in her place, giving Wang a weak look...  
  
"HHHHHHHAAAA!!! RAGING RAMBADO KICK!!"  
  
As soon as the last word came out, Wang spun around and launched a massive kick, which had move range than it put on at first sight. However, despite how fast as the kick came out in its execution...  
  
"Hiagasen!"  
  
...Kaoru just ducked it, moving in at the same time to meet Wang up close with a rising kick to his chin. He let out a yelp of pain as his body launched into the air, where Kaoru quickly followed and ended with a stronger kick to send him back where he came from. Wang landed on his back, writhing in pain.  
  
"Geez... I knew you'd be a waste of time..." Kaoru pouted. "Two attacks and already you're down and out. I don't know who you think you are, but face facts. If you can't last any longer than this then you don't have any business fighting at all."  
  
She took a pause to give Wang one last look as he lay on the grass, then just turned to pick up her bag full of her things and put it on her back.  
  
"And for the last time, I don't know jack about your father. Now don't bother me again!"  
  
And with that, she started to walk away. She let out another sigh, closing her eyes while doing to. When they opened, she stopped, glancing at a shadow of someone standing right in front of her. Before she could look up, someone spoke.  
  
"K... Kaoru? Is that really you?"  
  
Before she knew it, a flushed feeling swarmed all over Kaoru's body. Her heart started to pound as she slowly lifted her head to face the person in front of her. He was somewhat thin with short hair yet long bangs, wearing casual clothing and carrying a few grocery bags. Just seeing him gave Kaoru a funny feeling in her stomach and a weak feeling in her legs. All the tough tenacity she showed with Wang vanished.  
  
"Oh, Yui..."  
  
At first neither moved. Kaoru knew why she couldn't. It was so long since she last seen her husband. Almost four years to be exact. The wait was finally over. Yui gasped as Kaoru let her bag drop from her back and then collapsed into his arms. She didn't cry, but she just closed her eyes, savoring this moment while it lasted.  
  
"Kaoru..." Yui whispered, holding her head close to his chest, "It's been too long..."  
  
"I know..." she responded quietly. "I missed you."  
  
"We've got a lot of catching up to do... Let's not do it out here."  
  
"Ok."  
  
Kaoru detached herself from Yui to grab her bag, but Yui was quicker to it, surprising her quite a bit.  
  
"Come on. I don't live that far from here. I bet you're tired from all the traveling that you've did."  
  
Kaoru smiled, then grabbed onto Yui's free hand and together they went to their home.

**Later...**  
  
"...so they did take good care of you. That's great. And I'm glad that you're alright after going through so much..."  
  
"Yes. Training to find new arts for myself was tough enough. Fighting the right person can really take it out of me... it's just that... most of the time it wasn't really worth it. There're a lot of people who just don't know who they're dealing with nowadays."  
  
The married couple sat at the kitchen table, where soft music played from the radio located next to the refrigerator. Their residence sat where they could get a wonderful view of the waterfront from the window. Although she was home, Kaoru didn't bother to unpack her travel bag. Why was the reason Yui was searching for, but he was just happy to see his wife again.  
  
"Kaoru, honey..." Yui spoke up, sitting in front of her at the table, "I'm happy to see that you're doing well. I really am... but I need to know..."  
  
"What is it?" Kaoru asked.  
  
Yui looked to the side a bit, as if to find the right words, and it took a few seconds to found them. "You should remember... It's been so long since I've seen you. You... ran away from Rose's mansion without telling anyone... I was so worried about you until the tournament started. I never asked you this... but I want to know... Did you run away because of-"  
  
"Yui..." Kaoru interrupted, obviously not wanting to go back into that part of her life, "please... You know why I left. It was so obvious... There were just too many questions that needed to be answered. I needed to find myself."  
  
Yui's expressions softened somewhat. "And how did that go?"  
  
Kaoru suddenly turned silent. Yui could see how it went for himself. It was all over her expression.  
  
"Actually... even after all that I've did after leaving... I'm still in the dark. I did manage to find me a family that cared for me. You met them. I also managed to finish school and marry you.... but still... I don't know much about my real past & family. It's something that I just need to uncover."  
  
"I understand... but why would you come back if you still have so much to do?"  
  
"Because I wanted you to come with me."  
  
Yui was taken a bit by surprise that Kaoru responded so quickly. Kaoru gasped herself, noticing that herself. She looked hard at her husband as she breathed deeply and kept speaking.  
  
"I don't want to go another minute without you by me. This is something that I tried to go about myself, but I realized that... it'd be better if you accompanied me on my journey. I don't want to be alone anymore..."  
  
Yui closed his eyes. "That meant a lot, Kaoru..." After a bit of thinking it over, Yui nodded. "I'd be glad to go with you whenever you're ready."  
  
Kaoru didn't say anything afterwards. She just smiled, her body literally getting out of the chair not by means of her legs, but by her ki, and before Yui knew it, she was in his lap, giving him a warm hug.  
  
"When did you pick that trick up?" Yui asked, smiling lightly.  
  
"Around..." was all Kaoru said. For then until nighttime, the couple spent their time making up for three years of being separated from each other...  
  
**London, England 4:19 P.M.**  
  
"Hmmm... The kids aren't home yet... Must be hanging out with friends..."  
  
It was a rather quiet afternoon... well... as quiet as things could get in the city of London. The sound of cars, commotion, and overall rustle and bustle of any city still swarmed in the air. However, this didn't bother the woman in this house. She was in the kitchen towards the back of their one-family house, which was nestled between another house and an apartment building. She was short and thin, around 35 years of age, yet still looking quite nice. She had long blonde hair which was braided in the back, bright azure eyes, and most noticeably, a small scar on her left cheek. At the moment she had her eyes closed, standing over the stove while vegetables cooked in the pot over a small open furnace, humming softly to herself as she also prepared a serving of mashed potatoes. After a while, once everything was set, she set the potatoes in the stove itself along with the full ham that was already inside, the heat smacking her face as she did so. This woman opened her eyes to look at the ham to make sure it was doing fine inside its pan, found nothing wrong, and closed the oven.  
  
"Aaaaahhh..." she sighed as she sat back down at the chair waiting for her, which belonged to the oak table that sat in the middle of the room, and looked up at the TV above her, which showed a game show called "Pyramid". Life was rather easygoing... She enjoyed it like this... It was much better than what she used to do as a living... or rather... what she was forced to do as a living... However, she quickly shook away that thought of the past and started watching TV...  
  
"OK, you have 35 seconds," the host informed the male team saturated at the left. "You get them all right, and you'll go to the Pyramid to get your shot at $100,000. Are you ready?"  
  
"Yes, baby, let's do this!" the man in the white shirt and black pants answered enthusiastically, rubbing his hands together. The other man in the brown plaid shirt just nodded.  
  
"Ok... Once again, the category is 'E-cellent.' Now... start."  
  
"Ok... er... uh... Something that's chewable... Something-something that-"  
  
"Edible."  
  
"Correct."  
  
"Hmm.... Sonic the Hedgehog... His enemy... Er... SEGA... ah..."  
  
"Hmmm... umm... Eggman!"  
  
"Correct."  
  
"Ok... umm... ummmmmm... France... Umm... A delicacy... Umm..."  
  
"Escargot!"  
  
"Correct again."  
  
"...it's a TV station... Umm... Sports..."  
  
"MOOOOOOM!!!!"  
  
The woman almost jumped out of her seat at that voice. It didn't come from the TV. Instead this new, feminine voice came from the front of the house. In conjunction with that, the house alarm went off briefly as the front door opened, showing a teenage English girl, wearing a green school uniform with a skirt, long socks, and brown shoes. Her hair was blond, just like the woman in the kitchen, only a bit brighter, and much shorter, only reaching to her shoulder. Her emerald green eyes scanned the living room, looking for her mother...  
  
"I'm in here, Noel," her mother called and within a second the young girl walked in, carrying her book bag on her shoulder. That bag slid off and to the floor as its owner made her way to her mother and hugged her deeply.  
  
"How was school?" her mom asked.  
  
"Ah... it was ok..." Noel responded, "especially when Drake made a fool out of himself trying to impress this girl he likes... That was funny."  
  
"For _YOUR_ information," a sudden loud voice rang out from the living room, "I don't like her! She just wanted me to do something for her."  
  
A young man walked into the kitchen and stopped at the doorway. He wore a uniform a lot like Noel, only he had slacks on and a long sleeved shirt. He had his blond hair long behind him, unlike his sister, and overall... if the two weren't male and female, it would've been easy to tell that they were twins... As a matter of fact they were. Fraternal twins. However, his emerald green eyes weren't as pleased as Noel's.  
  
"Oh, so I guess holding Michelle's books for her and slipping while walking her to her 7th period class wasn't funny?" Noel teased, turning to face her slightly older brother (and by older it was meant by only 4 minutes), "Come on! Everyone within hearing distance was dying of laughter!"  
  
Drake's cheeks flushed, although it was hard to tell if it was from hot anger or hot embarrassment. "But it WASN'T funny! You don't understand this. I'm pretty sure Michelle wasn't laughing."  
  
"No. She _was_ hiding giggles..."  
  
"Ok, that's enough, you two," the mother broke them up before a fight could break out, "Noel, you go on and change clothes. You have homework?"  
  
"Yes, mom... Biology and Geometry," Noel moaned, her voice obviously showing how much she 'liked' the whole thing.  
  
"Well, you better get to it," the mother said. "You know Biology's your weak spot."  
  
The girl sighed heavily and walked past her brother to go to the steps that lead to the upper level in the house. Drake, however, didn't let her go without quickly grabbing and tugging at her short, neatly done hair. Noel immediately yelped before slapping his hand away.  
  
"Stop that, you dork!" she shouted, totally annoyed while shooting Drake the evil eye before moving on along to the stairs and eventually her bedroom. Drake just dropped his head, closed his eyes, and sighed before looking at his mother.  
  
"Why am I related to that stuck-up weirdo?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, now don't start acting like that... You two just like to get on each other's nerves a lot. It's a brother-sister thing."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"So where's Ms. Craft?"  
  
"Uh... she didn't come in with Noel?"  
  
The mother twisted her mouth. "No, she didn't. Then again-"  
  
"Hey, Cammy!"  
  
The mother cringed. "Oh, boy..." she moaned while standing up, heading to the living room. "The voice of evil..."  
  
Waiting for her on her white couch was another woman quite a bit taller than she was. She had very dark brown hair while was of moderate length, wearing a sports bra with blue shorts and sneakers. She had her hand running through her hair as she sat one leg over the other, looking at the blond and her kid at the door.  
  
"You never fail to make an appearance, do you, Bridget?" Drake's mother asked while twisting her mouth.  
  
"No... I guess not..." the dark brunette responded. "But I wouldn't be who I am if I didn't now would I, Cammy?"  
  
"No..." Cammy then looked over to Drake. "Drake, I know for a fact that you've got homework. You might want to make like your sister and get to work."  
  
"Sure, mom," he answered while grabbing his bag and running upstairs. Once fully up the stairs Cammy sat down next to Bridget and gave her a look.  
  
"You know... you never told any of us why you come here every time they come home for school. Don't you sort of think that's invading personal space?"  
  
"Ummmm... If it's a crime then I guess I'm guilty, right?" was Bridget's reply. "Besides, you act like I'm not wanted here."  
  
"Bridget," Cammy replied, "you live right next door. Plus, you don't just do this every once in a while. You do this every day..."  
  
Bridget rolled her eyes, making Cammy frown a bit. "Look, if you want me to stop popping in, you can just tell me, you know... We're friends, right? I can understand if you need a bit of space."  
  
"I did ask you. Quite a few times two weeks ago."  
  
"Sorry!" the brunette cried out. Cammy's eyes softened a bit after realizing how her friend was taking it.  
  
"Awwww, come on... This is the same reaction you gave me last time."  
  
Bridget immediately blinked out of her mood. "Really? It is? Well... what do you know...?"  
  
Bridget chuckled a bit... until she laid eyes on Cammy's melancholy face, which led to a sweatdrop. "Uhhhh..."  
  
"Forget it. Yeesh... I wonder how we became like this, anyway."  
  
"I don't know... We just did, I guess."  
  
Cammy looked away from her neighbor a bit while crossing her legs over one another as they rested on the carpet. After a moment of silence she found herself smirking, which Bridget clearly saw.  
  
"And just why are you laughing?" she asked curiously.  
  
"Oh... just thinking back a few years ago... when I moved here."  
  
Bridget's mouth twisted. "You don't mean when we first met, do you?"  
  
"Of course..." Cammy smirked. "You made a fool out of yourself tripping on the way to greet us. If I knew that was a message of things to come, then-"  
  
A sudden ring of the doorbell cut Cammy off. Letting out a small sigh she propelled herself off the couch with Bridget right behind. As she reached the door she took a pause.  
  
"Cammy?" Bridget called. "You ok?"  
  
A bit later, Cammy looked up towards her and nodded. "Yeah. I just wanted to figure out who this was is all. You?"  
  
"I figured I'd better leave and head back home. I believe dinner doesn't cook itself."  
  
"Alright. I'll talk to you later."  
  
As Cammy opened the door to let her friend out, she also laid eyes on her visitor. The woman in front of her didn't resemble anyone she met before. She was a little taller than she was, sporting long brown hair and wearing a uniform that resembled that of a militia. A bit startled, Cammy straightened herself out and cleared her throat.  
  
"Excuse me," she started. "I... wasn't expecting a visit from someone like you."  
  
"Don't worry about it," the woman started, her voice rather soothing and even a bit cute. "You're Cammy White, correct?"  
  
"Yes, I am."  
  
"Great. Ms. White, I'm here to acknowledge the service you put into the Delta Red force over the past years. If I recall, you were the same Cammy who had history with Shadowloo, correct?"  
  
Cammy's mind immediately went on a field trip to a place she wished she could forget. Those memories scarred her for life, remembering how she was revealed as a clone of M. Bison, its leader and left behind and discarded like trash. Memories of her searching for who she really was inside and her going through the second World Warrior tournament to try to even the score, only to no avail. She almost succeeded in forgetting about the pain, but unfortunately, it seemed she couldn't escape that.  
  
"Yes..." she responded, her voice noticeably dropping in volume, "I am."  
  
_{Excellent... I knew it was her just by looking at her...}_  
  
"I'm sorry. Did I bring up something unpleasant?" the woman asked. Cammy responded by shaking her head.  
  
"No, it's alright. Just don't talk so loud. I don't want my kids to find out about that. That part of my history has been a secret ever since they were born."  
  
"Alright. I understand. Well, I'm not here to talk and waste your time, so let me get to business."  
  
At this time, the woman in the red attire turned around to reach for a package. "Your comrades back at Delta Red haven't forgotten about how you lead them to so many successful missions, Cammy. As a token of their appreciation, they all pitched in and bought you these."  
  
The woman brought the package in front of Cammy and opened it for her. Instantly the fragrant smell of roses and violets hit her nose, a bit strong at first. Cammy's face brightened a bit as she laid eyes on the bouquet of flowers that lay inside the box.  
  
"Oh... That's sweet of them..." Cammy responded, reaching in to collect her present. "Hmm... I never was a fan of receiving flowers, but... those guys over there must've thought that chocolates would've been a weird thing to send."  
  
Hints of a smile spread across her face as she took them into her arms and sniffed them up close. Once again, the scent was a bit strong, even more so up close.  
  
"Phew... They must've sprayed something extra onto these..."  
  
"You must be special then," the woman said.  
  
"You could say that... Well, thanks for the package... er...."  
  
Cammy blinked. She never asked who this woman's name was. Now that she thought about it while she laid her eyes on the person in front of her, she still had this feeling that she knew her... A gut feeling, so to speak. Cammy took the flowers out of her eyesight and looked at her closely.  
  
"Do I... know you from somewhere?" she asked cautiously.  
  
"I don't believe so..." she answered. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"Oh... nothing... Perhaps we met somewhere at the base..." A pause... "I never caught your name."  
  
"Oh, my name? It's... Raven."  
  
"Raven..."  
  
The moment she responded with her name, the flower's scent shot into her nose again, almost like a spray. Cammy immediately dropped the bouquet as she coughed, reeling backwards. She found her legs stop abruptly on her living room table and tripped her, sending her flipping backwards over the table and landed in front of her couch. The scent lay heavy in Cammy's head, clouding her senses. As she coughed, Raven made her way towards her.  
  
"What's wrong, Ms. White? You don't like the flowers?"  
  
"J.... just... wha... what's going on....?" Cammy demanded, looking up to Raven, taken aback to see her expression not the least bit remorseful.  
  
"Oh, don't worry," Raven smirked as Cammy struggled to get up. "Relax... The more you fight it, the more it takes out of you. Now, if you'd be so kind to cooperate, you'll be coming with-"  
  
"MOM?? You ok? I heard a crash!"  
  
Raven stopped upon hearing a voice from above her head. She looked up as she laid eyes on Cammy's daughter, who was slightly undressed.

_{Great. This made things more complicated... I better leave now.}_  
  
Noel, however, already saw her mother, who collapsed on the floor with the items that were supposedly on the table now all over her. It took a second for it to register into her brain, as the next second...  
  
"MOM!!!"  
  
Totally forgetting that Raven was right next to her, Noel ran down the steps, just as Drake raced to it as well.  
  
"What's going on!?" he asked frantically. His eyes went to his mother, and he felt his heart sink. Before his sister could even get down the steps, Raven made her presence known as she grabbed Cammy by her shirt, not picking her up. Noel stopped abruptly in shock. She took a good, long look at her as Raven calmly spoke.  
  
"Now, now, kids... If I were you, I'd stay right where you are. You don't want anything to happen to your mother, now, do you?"  
  
"W... who are... you...?" Noel's shaky voice rose.  
  
"What did you do to her!?" Drake immediately demanded. Raven just looked at Cammy's now unconscious body and smiled.  
  
"She had a little accident. It seems she's allergic to these special flowers that I sent her. I was just going to... how do you say... check her into a hospital."  
  
"Yeah, right," Drake shot back. Before he could even carry that on, Raven pointed a hand towards the two, which instantly lit up into a purple-blue mix of energy, making him shut his mouth.  
  
"For a little boy, you sure got a smart mouth," Raven scowled. "I thought dear old Cammy here would raise you up better than that. A pity..."  
  
Drake growled as, instead of feeling fear while staring at a very dangerous individual, he felt anger. He clenched his fists at his side and repeated. "You stay away from her, you... you...!"  
  
"Hmmm... now that I think about it, I don't think we've met before, so I'll introduce myself. The name's Raven, and in case you're wondering, I've got a little 'catching up' to do with your mother. Trust me; she'll be just fine where she's going..."  
  
"You're not taking her ANYWHERE!" Drake yelled out mightily, pushing his way abruptly past his slightly younger sister and rushed towards Cammy in a valiant effort to save her. Raven gave a 'humph' as she withdrew her energy attack and clenched her fists, sniffing it. However, she used that same hand to swing and strike down Drake with a swift blow, so powerful that it literally sent him flying backwards and crashing into Noel in a heap on the stairs.  
  
"Kids these days..." Raven muttered, picking up a woman just slightly smaller than her by just one hand and picking her onto her shoulder. She gave one last look at Cammy's kids, who were hurt just from that one attack, but were barely looking at her. She smirked evilly, and before either sibling knew what happened, she vanished into thin air. A few moments after that there was complete silence as Drake tried to get up, but to no avail. Noel didn't even notice him. Her eyes were still on the area where that strange woman in red appeared.  
  
{_I... It has to be a dream...}_ she reassured herself. _{This can't be happening... It... It isn't possible... No... Mom.... she.... c... can't be gone...}_  
  
"D... drake...?" she said in a tiny voice, holding him tight. Her chest was screaming in pain from the force in which they collided. Drake could only groan...  
  
"S..... she's gone...." His eyes watered up... and before he knew it...  
  
"MOOOOOOOOOTHER!!!!!!!"


	5. Night 'n Gale

_**CHAPTER 5: NIGHT n' GALE**_

**Kyoto, Japan 8:47 P.M.**

"This is it! The final round! Get ready!"

"Come! I won't hold back! Trust me on that!"

The now crimson skies of Kyoto shone down on two martial artists within a vast forest. A light breeze swept through the battlefield, which was littered with leaves long the grassy ground and huge trees all over. Once of the warriors in the battle was a master of Karate, sporting short black hair and a brownish-white gi. A long yellow headband was wrapped around her neck and it swayed in the air as she slowly and carefully circled her adversary. Before her was a taller woman, who had long brown hair and a red & white hakagi, along with a simple white headband on her head. The first was named Makoto; the latter; Hokuto.

In a blink of an eye, Makoto made the first move, dashing towards her opponent to try a quick throw. Hokuto dipped to her side and out of the way, returning the favor by delivering an elbow strike to the head. This attack was blocked, and swiftly countered with a close ranged dash punch to Hokuto's side. She quickly put some distance between them to recover from Makoto's Hayate, but Makoto wouldn't have any of it. She sped in with another fast Hayate, hitting her target...

"Gokyaku Hou!"

...who was in her counter stance. The karate girl fell on her back and Hokuto moved in to capitalize, only to get interrupted by an object swiftly flying her way. She backed way, letting the object stick itself into the forest floor.

"_A dagger..." _she thought. Obviously, it couldn't have come from Makoto.

"Hoooo!"

She was right. Another fighter, clothed in white & red ninja attire dropped from the sky right in front of her, almost catching her off guard. Upon landing the new fighter let out 3 quick spinning kicks, all which were blocked. Before Hokuto could retaliate, the ninja threw down a smoke bomb, totally throwing her off. Instinctively she covered her face to not inhale any of it as it quickly vanished.

"Ugh... Now where did she...?"

"Megita!"

Hokuto's confusion cleared up from Makoto's perch on a nearby tree. Instantly the shorter girl shot down with a swift kick, connecting instantly. She then followed with a knee to the face, popping Hokuto into the air briefly, then a spinning kick, and then dashed under her defenseless foe with a hard fist upwards, the force strong enough to hit Hokuto higher into the air. Makoto jumped to follow, her overhead kick hitting Hokuto straight back to the ground, the leaves on the floor jumping up as she landed on her back.

Makoto wasn't out of the fire, however, for her return trip downward was cut off from a foreign object that shot out from the woods behind Hokuto. The black & gold pole hit Makoto dead on in her stomach and she tumbled backwards to accompany Hokuto on the ground.

"Sister! I'll take it from here!"

And out jumped out yet another fighter, dressed in a brown dress with a small protective shield along her chest. Her brown hair was set up in a ponytail accompanied with a red tie and wore black long socks and brown sneakers.

"Alright, Nanase," Hokuto breathed out, getting to her feet. "Go for it!"

The younger sister wasted little time pursuing Makoto, meeting her as she tried to stand with a downward elbow strike, followed quickly by a fierce roundhouse kick to the face. Makoto cried out as she reeled backwards from the blows, but Nanase was all over her. She quickly jumped towards her, pole ready, and as she jumped over her, planted her pole right into Makoto's head for her Kasumi Oroshi move... or that is, if she didn't block.

The karate girl immediately cancelled her guard and dashed forward to where Nanase would land, then, as she turned around, grabbed her by the neck. Makoto proceeded to lift her up and give a single choke, then put her down, startling Nanase. She then followed with a swift chop to the side of the head, making her spin in recoil, then a Hayate to the back, making her stumble away.

"Ibuki!" Makoto called out and on cue, the ninja girl from earlier reappeared in front of Nanase.

"HaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAHHHHH!!" she shouted, grabbing Nanase's arm and putting her free hand onto her defenseless side. A second later a huge dome of energy poured out of Ibuki's hand, the wind caused from it blowing the leaves away, as well as Nanase's body, which flew into a nearby tree. She howled in pain as her body ached from Ibuki's Yoroi-Doushi super art, but there was no time to recuperate.

Nanase forced herself to roll out of the way of Ibuki's follow up kick. As the ninja girl dashed again as Nanase stood up as quickly as she could, she followed up with a powerful strike with her fist. Nanase, however, rose up with her own roundhouse kick. The two gasped as they traded hits, reeling away from one another. Nanase was slightly quick to her senses and spun back around towards Ibuki, whipping her pole out from her side. She ducked low, dodging Ibuki's recovery palm strike and swung hard while spinning, putting all her power into her attack. Ibuki instantly saw stars from the heavy blow, her body spinning as it fell to the ground. Nanase didn't waste any time capitalizing, dashing towards the dazed fighter and got her pole into position.

"HAAAAAH! Izayoi Rekkon!"

She gave Ibuki three ground attacks with her pole, the last one hitting her into the air. Nanase jumped after wards, spinning her pole over her head like a helicopter blade, hitting multiple times. Before the move could finish, though, Nanase paused...

"Yoyoi Toukon Gi!"

...and threw the pole at her opponent as a projectile while still airborne. Ibuki's body crashed into the grass a few feet away, her ninja gi starting to tear and her left cheek starting to bruise under the mask. She still felt woozy, but not enough to keep her from defending herself this time. She slowly regained her footing while Nanase dashed in, grabbing her staff from the floor while running towards her full speed. She still held tightly to her side, the pain from Ibuki's super still writhing through her.

The two stopped moving once they made eye contact with one another. Nanase held her pole ready in front of her as Ibuki slowly got her feet fully, her right hand slowly reaching a few of her daggers from her pocket. A moment of silence passed, the two rivals only listening to their pounding hearts and heavy breathing.

"C... come on..." Nanase heaved. "Make the first move..."

Through her mask over her mouth, Ibuki weakly smirked. "You sure you want me to? You might regret it..."

"We'll just see who'll be doing the regretting..."

"Humph... Ok... GURAE!"

On cue, Ibuki threw three of her daggers along the floor, right at Nanase's feet. At the same time, Nanase positioned her pole in front of her on its end, blocking the last dagger from pinning her down. Both moving swiftly, Nanase jumped, balancing herself on top of her extending pole as Ibuki dashed under her, missing her strike for her Yami-Shigure super art. Nanase came down quickly from her perch and turned around, trying to use her pole to retaliate, but this time Ibuki was quicker. The ninja girl gave her 5 quick roundhouse kicks, the last one making Nanase spin to the ground. Despite the pain, Nanase flipped to her feet as Ibuki dashed in to follow up. She performed a few low attacks, all in which Nanase was in position to guard against. She then moved in even closer to attempt a grab. However, Nanase managed to push Ibuki off, making her stumble backwards a bit.

Nanase then came in with her own quick attacks while putting her weapon to her side again. Those were blocked. Nanase then tried to mix things up, but a quick sweep from Ibuki disrupted it.

The ninja hopped backwards to catch her breath, watching as Nanase sat up, using her dueling rod for support.

"N... never thought... I'd have such a tough fight from you..." Ibuki heaved.

"I... I sort of... expected this..." Nanase hoarsely replied.

"All... about the beauty of it, uh?"

"You... could say that..."

Both let out light laughs...

"TAG!"

"TAG!"

...but it wasn't long until the action picked up again. Makoto and Hokuto rushed out to replace their tired teammates. Makoto came with a Hayate, but Hokuto came out the winner with her ducking sweep kick, the Shinkuu Geki. Makoto quickly regained balance to guard again a kick to her knee and returned with a light jab. Hokuto blacked, as predicted, so Makoto stepped forward with a stronger punch. Not only did Hokuto block this one, but she grabbed the arm and flipped Makoto over her back.

The karate girl gave a shout as she rolled backwards to her feet, only to get nailed with another Chugekihou that was linked into an uppercut, hitting her into the air slightly. Hokuto canceled again, this time forming an orange energy bullet with her hands. It hit as it expanded, but the real damage didn't occur until Hokuto shouted out its name...

"Kiren'eki!!"

....and shot it forward. Fifteen hits later Makoto hit the ground a third time, this time staying down. Hokuto brushed her hands and sighed, then flicked her hair.

"Are you finished?" she asked, her voice still soft even during battle. Makoto only groaned as she tied to stand up again, only she found herself lying back on the ground, staying permanently.

"Guess so," Hokuto answered for herself. "Ok, Ibuki! Come on out!"

"Hehe! That's the thing! Never keep your eye off a shinobi!"

Hokuto gasped as she looked up, where she found Ibuki jumping off a high tree branch...

"ATARE!!!"

...and fired many small daggers from the air. Unable to dodge, Hokuto tired her best to defend. The hailstorm didn't stop for quite some time but luckily Hokuto managed to hold on. Ibuki knew this while falling down right next to Hokuto. Instantly she tried to hop backwards to get away but Hokuto grabber her by her arm... and just led her towards her back. Although the move didn't damage in itself, Hokuto dealt some with a blow to the back of the head, then a solid Shingeki to the head, sending Ibuki to the ground face first.

"_Geez..."_ the ninja girl thought, struggling to rise up from the grass to continue the battle, "I don't believe that—irk!"

Rolling on her back to try to sit up, Ibuki found herself at the business end of another weapon: a pole with a very sharp metal blade on its end. She stopped moving on a dime, her eyes widening as they rose to look a smirking Hokuto in the eyes.

"You lose," was all the dominant fighter said. Ibuki heaved a frustrated sigh as she grabbed the mask off her mouth and threw it to the ground at her side, revealing the bruise that Nanase left on her cheek.

"Crap!" Ibuki yelled. "I hate cooking dinner!"

This only made Hokuto's smile bigger. "I think this'll tell you to get better at your skills then... Come on. Fighting 3 rounds with you two makes me famished every time."

**15 minutes later**

"Luckily I didn't hold any classes today. My students would probably ask why I'm looking like this," Makoto muttered to herself as she took of her battle torn gi and folded it neatly in her lap before setting it on her side on her bed. After the tournament 3 years ago, Makoto earned enough money from her bouts to buy a rather nice house that resided in the forest outside of Kyoto. From her bedroom on the second floor she could see much of the busy city of Kyoto from her bedroom, the evening sunrays shining through the window. Better yet, she also managed to get her father's karate dojo moved to right next door, making her life a whole lot more convenient for her. Even though she'd been living here for 3 years, many things still felt new to her, like the fact that she had much more room in her bedroom than before, allowing her to put stuff in that she normally would've passed up on. However, living with three close friends who knew how to live certainly made things easier on her...

After taking another look at the city below her, Makoto rose off the bed and towards a dresser drawer, searching for something to wear for the night. As she rambled through the clothes she possessed, a knock at her bedroom door came about.

"Who is it?" the karate girl asked while not stopping in her quest.

"It's me. Nanase."

"The door's open."

Taking the invite, Nanase entered Makoto's bedroom. She was already out of her battle clothes, wearing a simple oversized t-shirt and her long black socks. The bow that held her hair together was off. Now her brown hair was worn a whole lot longer, reaching well beyond her shoulders.

"I just came up to tell you that Ibuki's done with dinner," she announced, "Oh, and that she hasn't burnt it to a crisp like last time."

"Oh, really? What did she cook, then?"

"Nothing too groundbreaking... It's a nice fish dinner she prepared."

Hidden to Nanase, Makoto smiled. "Wow... she sure did go out of her way if she did fish... I'll have to see for myself. Ah!"

Makoto pulled out of the drawer a red tank top and slipped it on, then a blue pair of shorts that were about a size too big for her. As she put on the remainder of her clothes, Nanase twisted her mouth.

"How can you be so comfortable dressing up with me in here? Don't you know I can see more than I need to?"

"Last time I checked I wasn't forcing you to watch me," Makoto smugly replied while turning to face her friend. "Anyway, let's go."

**A little later...**

"You know, I don't know why you hate cooking so much. Your fish is divine."

"Oh, please, Hokuto. Don't flatter me. I'd rather order out than cook myself."

"This shows how lazy you get when you're not living in your village, Ibuki..."

Ibuki twitched as Makoto's words hit her ears. "Hey, can you blame me for wanting to have some down time from all that? You really don't know what goes on there."

"Perhaps... but it still doesn't say why you hate cooking."

Ibuki left that comment alone and turned to her dinner sitting before her. She and the rest of the fighters were enjoying Ibuki's cooking in the dining room that Nanase decorated herself. Hokuto was still in her clothes from earlier while Ibuki changed into some comfortable urban clothes, a bandage covering her right cheek. It was rather quiet save for the soft music coming from the radio on the table behind Hokuto. Although she didn't say it, Ibuki couldn't stand it...

"_Would it kill them to put on something more... 21st century?"_ she thought to herself, taking another bite out of her fish, then responded with, "Hey, Makoto. Don't forget that you have to handle the dishes afterwards."

"Don't worry about me. I handle my responsibilities." A pause, then, "Speaking of which... Hokuto, did you and Nanase find the gift you were going to give your father?"

Hokuto just shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. There wasn't anything that he probably would've liked down in town. We decided to try again later in the week."

"Alright. Just checking..."

Nanase, who hadn't said anything ever since coming downstairs, remained so as she looked at her sister. It had been quite a while since they have even been near their original home, but there was a reason so. There were too many memories back there of their family, most of them very, very painful when brought to mind. The days where their family was peaceful and most important, together, definitely made her heart long for that. In a way she almost condemned her family's fighting style or martial arts all together, since it is what caused the breakup of their family... but times move on, and seeing her father again would definitely bring some hope to her.

For a while after that none of the women said anything to one another while they finished eating. Ibuki was first to break the ice, letting out a satisfied sigh as she pushed herself away from the table.

"That was good! Well, I'll be in my room if you need me... and Makoto, don't you dare think of leaving this floor without doing the dishes, got it?"

Makoto only looked from out the side of her eyes to her friend/rival, then back to her rice bowl. "I will take care of it. Just relax. There's no need for you to be all loud about such things."

Ibuki scoffed. "Yeah, well... one chore not done can lead to some serious problems down the road. I'm just keeping you on your toes."

"Oh, is that so?" the karate girl countered. "In that case, then I'll be doing the same to you."

"WHAT?!"

"And it's great to know that my influences are rubbing off on you. When this little group started you were such a slacker..."

Ibuki's face literally turned red from hot anger. "Oh, I'm a slacker, am I!? Tell you what? How about you see how much I'm slacking when you get upstairs, huh!?"

Makoto only sighed, unfazed. "Come on... Tonight? I mean... really. All I have to do is give your cheek one, nice touch... and..."

"Ok, you two," Hokuto interrupted, calmly standing up herself and grabbing her silverware, "you can handle that in private, but not here. We had an agreement, remember? No arguing or fighting at the dinner table."

The ninja pouted. "Ok, mother..." she replied, stressing the word 'mother' under her breath. Without another word she went upstairs, preparing for the finale that would take place later. Makoto just sighed and finished up her rice, then went past Hokuto to the kitchen area. Nanase kept her eyes on her until she passed her sister, and then kept her mark there. It was then where she watched in observation on her face. Hokuto hadn't moved ever since she stood up. She also had her gaze on the table in front of her, as if zoning out or thinking about something heavy.

"S... sister?" she whispered, just loud enough for her to hear. Hokuto then looked at her younger sister and straightened her posture.

"Yes, Nanase?"

"....oh... nothing... You looked like you were thinking..."

Hokuto lightly nodded before turning herself away from the table and Nanase and heading into the kitchen along with Makoto. Nanase didn't get up from her seat automatically, but she eventually got up and followed suit.

**One hour later**

Nanase couldn't sleep. She really tried to, but she couldn't. She just couldn't. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't rest when Makoto and Ibuki were fighting in the other room down the hall. It was just impossible. Heaving a sigh the young fighter sat up in her bed, holding her forehead. Her bedroom was dark since the lights were out and the moon was being blocked out mostly by the leaves from the many trees outside her window. That plus the fact that the lack of sleep started to set in, Nanase was already feeling like she hadn't slept all night.

{I need... to go somewhere... quiet...}

She forced herself out of her bed, or rather, tumbled out of it to the floor, the bed sheets falling behind her. Letting out a moan, Nanase got to her feet and grabbed her pillow and one of her sheets at random, not caring that there were numerous lint balls in her now messy hair. A while later, she was knocking at her sister's door, hoping that she hadn't either ran away from the noise or was asleep already.

"Sister..." she said lightly. "It's me... Let me in..."

There was no response. Once again, Nanase knocked on the door, this time harder.

"Hokuto?"

After a while of nothing, Nanase tired the doorknob.

{Huh...? It's unlocked....}

"Sister...?" she said quietly as she opened the door... and gasped. Her sister was definitely awake... and busy packing her things, most specifically her fighting attire into her travel bag. Baffled and shocked, Nanase just stood and stared at her older sister, unable to understand why she was doing this. Hokuto, in turn, grew aware of her sister's presence, and stopped what she was doing herself. After a moment of silence between the two, Nanase was the first to try to attempt to speak.

"Sister..." was all that came out of her mouth. "What are you...?"

Heaving a sigh, Hokuto sat down on her bed and looked at the ground, facing away from Nanase. The younger stood still as she waited on Hokuto's response.

"Nanase... I was planning on sneaking out... Out into the world once again..."

"But why?" Nanase demanded. "You don't have a reason to..."

"I do.... It's... about our brother..."

The little array of words struck Nanase hard in her stomach. She instantly remembered the tournament that took place years ago... What happened to Kairi as it concluded... How Sakura's Nekketsu Hadouken practically thrashed his body. It wasn't like she had much of a choice. If she didn't, she wouldn't be alive today. But at the same time, that was Nanase's brother who was at the end of that attack. It was Hokuto's brother that was presumed dead after it ended. There was no trace of his body when the battle concluded. Most people just thought that he left the remains of the Tokyo dome without a trace, but Hokuto & Nanase presumed the worst... or rather... Nanase did.

"I don't understand...." the younger sister responded.

"Nanase, lately... I... I've had this feeling that things between me and him can't be decided by him being defeated by someone else. I can feel it. He's still out there somewhere... Only I can stop him."

"Sister... you already fought our brother twice and won both times... and neither time did he return to his old self... Please... Don't go."

"I don't have much of a choice about it. It's either that or he comes here and threatens our friends. I can't let that happen. I just can't."

Nanase kept her peace this time around, leaving Hokuto to finish packing her things. Once she closed her bag up, Nanase tried again.

"Hokuto..."

"I'm leaving, Nanase... There's no way around it."

"At least let me come with you."

"No... Out of the question. It's too dangerous."

"But..."

"Besides..." Finally, Hokuto turned around to make perfect eye contact with Nanase, "someone needs to keep Ibuki and Makoto company. Knowing those two they might go too far with their rivalry. They need a good referee like you around."

"So... are you saying that... we don't care enough to accompany you... on this new journey of yours?"

Hokuto gasped as behind Nanase emerged Makoto and Ibuki, both who were panting heavily and obviously tired from their tussle, but still doing fine. Hokuto twisted her mouth. She didn't expect to conflict with her roommates, let alone her sister.

"You know," Ibuki spoke, "that if you have a problem that you should tell us. We can solve it together. I think we had this discussion quite a few times before, Hokuto. What? You don't trust us or something?"

"No. It's not that... It's just...."

"Sister, don't you understand? We're all in this together. You taking off without much word isn't really that we all would appreciate, you see...."

"Ok, ok..." Hokuto finally caved in. "I get the message, you three. Just promise me that... that... well..." Hokuto trailed off.

"Well?" Ibuki asked.

Hokuto shook her head. "No. It's nothing."

"Alright, girls! We leave ASAP tomorrow," Ibuki announced. "Get your things packed, because I sense another adventure coming up!"

As Makoto shook her head while giving a smile and went to her room, Hokuto couldn't help but do the same. Perhaps Nanase was right. Perhaps things would go better is she didn't go alone... Only time would tell if she was truly correct.

**Tokyo, Japan 10:00 P.M.**

From the time Sakura rode from the restaurant to their home, she couldn't help but have a bad feeling in her stomach. She spent a majority of the ride looking behind her to look at Chun-Li in the back seat, who was on her cell phone, getting the information on the arrests from Ace. Of course, Darrell was driving, and Hinata & Ran sat in the back along with the Interpol officer, but neither of them showed as much concern (or nervousness) as Sakura did.

_{I know its something big...} _she kept telling herself. _{I just know it.}_

As the tall buildings of Tokyo gave way to homes, Chun-Li finally hung up the phone and sighed heavily, catching everyone's attention.

"Are you alright back there?" Darrell asked.

"I'll be fine. Just a little tired, is all. Today's been quite a busy day..."

"Well, I think it's about time we knew what's going on," Hinata said. Chun-Li nodded in response.

"Yes. I do believe now's a good time. I'll start from the beginning. Interpol Headquarters in Shanghai started to get frequent reports of weird homicidal and suicidal cases all over the world. On each and every one of them, either the victim or the killer was under the influence of a drug that causes them to appear very much like Sakura's dark side. Not a clone, but the same properties."

"So... that guy back at the restaurant..." Darrell followed. "Was he—"

"He was under a fake replication of Satsu no Hadou, something both you and Sakura are so familiar with."

"I don't understand," Sakura said right afterwards. "Who would even think of doing something like this?"

Chun-Li took a pause before answering. "That's the part that I'm sure you're not going to like. We've managed to uncover several leads that track back to an old enemy of ours..."

That sentence was enough to immediately sound warning bells in everyone's brains. Darrell found himself pulling the car over at once, startling the others.

"You... You mean... No way! It can't be!" Hinata stuttered.

"I'm sorry... but it's true. No mistake about it."

"Damn... Why can't Bison every stay dead?" Darrell growled. "And why can't he ever learn his lesson? This guy has to be the densest person on earth!"

"Be that as it may," Chun-Li responded, "the fact of the matter is that he and his syndicate is back again, this time more diabolical than every. They're not just selling drugs and committing kidnappings anymore. They're responsible for so many deaths over such a small time due to this drug, which can get anyone at anytime. This time, it's more urgent than ever and they must be stopped."

Quiet entered throughout the car as Darrell resumed driving, a bit slower than before, turning the corner and down a now completely night fallen street. He stopped for good in front of a very nice custom built house in which Sakura's rival and family friend, Karin Kanzuki had built especially for him and Sakura. Heaving a heavy sigh, Darrell cut off the ignition and opened the door, Sakura following his lead right afterwards.

"So... knowing Bison, he's going to try to get revenge on us for bringing him down," Darrell said while opening the back door so that the passengers could exit the car.

"Exactly," Chun-Li responded. "That's why I'm here. You, Sakura, Hinata, and Kaoru all assisted in bringing him down. Speaking of her, does she still reside with you?"

"No," Sakura said while closing her door. "She left us quite a while ago when the tournament ended. She's out in the world somewhere, searching for answers to her past..."

"I see... Well, the reason I'm here is to ask for your cooperation on this case. Seeing how you did first-hand, it'll be a great help."

"I get it..." Darrell answered. "Well... it's a tough call. Things now aren't as flexible as it was when we were in school, you know. We can't just up and leave like that."

Sakura immediately gave her husband a look. "You're joking. Are you saying that our jobs are more important than stopping Shadowloo?"

"I can understand your situation," Chun-Li said. "I can get the pardon from the heads of your jobs easily."

"It's not just that..." Hinata spoke up. "I've got a young 5-year old son to worry about." She took a pause as they made their way from the car into the house, Ran closing the door behind everybody. "When exactly to you intend on start this?"

"As soon as possible."

"I guess I could ask Kyosuke to watch little Tai..." Hinata murmured to herself as she sat on the couch. "Then again, I'll need to find someone who can watch after my businesses and all..."

"How about you, Darrell?" the agent asked.

"Well... the job's now encountering a huge business deal with the Chaolin Foundation and if it pulls through... I'm head of the Financial Ward so it's important that I'm there... but... considering my status there I could always give my work to the assistant and he could do it for me. As long as it pulls, the company doesn't care where I'm at. It'll also help if you came yourself and explained thing, but I think that won't be necessary."

"But that may be for me..." Sakura followed. "The head of Tamagawa Minami is a jerk. It's going to take some fancy talking to let him release me. He's against me as it is, looking back at my history to be terrible in school due to street fighting. He practically despises Street Fighting and martial arts as a whole, keeping the school's tradition on staying 'clean & academic.'" She heaved a sigh. "I missed the old principal..."

"Don't worry about it, Sakura. I can get him to work with us... No problem about it."

Sakura smiled. "Well, give us until Saturday. Um... you have a contact number we can reach?"

"Sure. 291-3176."

"Here, Sakura," Ran immediately picked up, ripping a piece of her notebook paper out and reaching out to give it to Sakura. "Hot from the presses."

The blossom giggled while receiving the number. "Thanks."

"No. Thank you. Without you, I think bringing Bison down a third time would be a tough feat."

"So it's settled," Hinata spoke. "Saturday morning. We'll meet here and go find out what that guy is up to again."

Chun-Li nodded while grabbing her phone again and dialing a number. A few seconds later, she got an answer.

"Willows, here."

"It's me, Ace. How's thing on your end?"

"Everything's finished here. We've got the Tokyo Interpol Ward conducting tests on the group for any traces of the Psycho drug. Also, I got a call from Shanghai. Two martial arts girls by the name of Shui Mei-Ling and Xiao Fen apprehended a Shadowloo lackey. He's currently being detained and fiercely interrogated. So far he's not cracking much."

"Alright. At might not be much but we're making some progress. You can come pick me up. I'm at Darrell Markis and Sakura Kasugano's residence. 67 Kuri Street."

"I'll be there in 15."

"Roger."

As the Interpol officer hung up, Darrell was there to meet her.

"So would you like something to eat or something?"

"No, I'm fine. I had a good meal before I met you guys."

"Mmm... ok..." he let out a yarn. "Well, I don't need to ask Ran. She ate with us and Hina, I'm pretty sure she ate while working, so I guess... Hey. How are you two getting home, anyway?"

Hinata and Ran looked at one another then back at him. "I guess we'll ride with Chun-Li," Ran said.

"Good idea. I won't need to walk."

"Well, I guess. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Alright. I better tell Kyosuke what's going on. Lately he's been a little... um... well... never mind."

Sakura rolled her eyes as she got up to let her friends out.

"You know, this would make an awesome front page story..." Ran said, going over the whole ordeal in her head.

"No," Chun-Li immediately snapped, catching Ran by surprise. "As of now this is something the public shouldn't know about fully. Not, at least, until Interpol can get some solid footing on this mess. Also, considering how Shadowloo caused so much global trouble the second time around, what the public doesn't know yet won't hurt them."

"Ok... If you say so...."

The officer then turned to Sakura, smiled, and ended the conversation with, "Good night, Sakura. Take care of yourself until Saturday."

"Don't worry about me. I'm a big girl now. I think I can take care of myself."

A hug from Hinata and a flashy smile from Ran later, Sakura closed the door behind the ladies and closed her eyes, sighing deeply.

_{I saw it coming... and I was right, but I can tell things won't be easy like last time...}_

"It's just another one of those times, isn't it?" Darrell asked from behind her, standing next to the staircase leading to the second floor of the house. Sakura turned around and nodded.

"Looks like peace isn't much of a liker to us," she responded, smirking slightly. "We did it twice before... We can sure enough do it a third time."

Darrell then found himself looking at the clock above the 42" TV.

"10:21..." he murmured. "I think we'd better get ready for tomorrow. I'll phone Hiro to come get the proposal from me, then we'll wait for Chun-Li to get to the school and we can deal with the annoyance they call the headmaster."

"Right," Sakura answered. "Then we get ready to leave." She let out a yarn and looked up to the stairs where the bedroom lay. Darrell twisted his mouth as he saw his wife lazily kick off her shoes at the front door and then ran a hand furiously over her previously neat hair, instantly messing it up.

"Still can't stand playing dress-up, sweetie?"

"You know me! I like being wild!"

Both laughed together for a bit then as it died, the two met at the first step and walked up together.

"What do you think that jerk Bison's up to now, anyway?" the blossom asked.

"Guess we won't find out yet," her spouse responded, "but we'll find out soon enough and when we do, we'll bring it down, no matter what tricks he has up his sleeve."

**Shanghai, China: 10:45 P.M.**

"Mei-Ling... I'll be fine. It's late. You should be home eating dinner and getting some sleep."

"I know, father. I... I just need to make sure you're doing ok."

Back at the hospital, Mei-Ling spent the last 3 hours at her father's bedside. She delivered the good news of Shun getting arrested for his crimes and afterwards talked loosely about other subjects. However, a thought was on her mind for the longest time. As she stared at her father's smiling face, the thought made her gulp.

"Father... I... I need to ask you about something very important."

"Go on."

"Well... as I said, I think that there is more that I can do to stop things like this. Fen brought up a good suggestion—"

"What did that coo-coo friend of yours flood your mind with now?" he interrupted suddenly. As first take aback, Mei-Ling eventually found out that he was joking.

"Dad, I'm serious," she playfully wined. "And I wish you wouldn't call her nuts."

"I didn't mean coo-coo as in nuts," the martial arts master replied. "I meant coo-cco as in retarded."

"Anyway... she brought up a good idea. She suggested that we go out and bring down this 'Shadowloo" once and for all..."

The father closed his eyes and meditated on Mei-Ling's words. She sat there, waiting anxiously for his response.

"Child," he started, "do you realize what you're asking for?"

"...yes..."

"Remember what I've said. You're 21 years-old. I know you can fare for yourself. This is a big step you are about to take. You're taking the way of the true warrior."

Mei-Ling kept silent as he continued.

"If you go, don't expect easy times. Every traveling warrior has trials they must deal with. However... I know that you'll be ok. I have the utmost confidence in you."

The martial arts girl's smile grew on her face. She could feel herself cheering up over those words. "Thanks, father."

"As long as you stay in touch and don't forget what I've taught you, you'd please me to no end. Remember that, Mei-Ling."

"Ok," she pecked a kiss on his cheek. "I'll be leaving as soon as possible. I'll call you once I'm ready to leave."

"Have you talked to the family about this, yet?"

That made her freeze. She completely forgot about that. Instantly she pictured how they would take the news. She wouldn't have any problems with her mother and less from Jiao, but it was Shin which made her twist her mouth.

"Not yet..." she mumbled, "but I will as soon as I get home."

The father looked at his daughter for a while, then said, "Don't fret. I know what you're thinking. If Shin gives you any problems, I will set him straight myself. Sometimes he can be an egotistical pain in the rear."

"I know..."

At that moment, the father gave Mei-Ling a different look, this one a bit more sincere than before. "Mei-Ling... There is one more thing that I must tell you. It's of the utmost importance to me."

Mei-Ling gave a firm nod. "Anything... What is it?"

"Tonight... I want you to go into the dojo of our house... and take the 'Kochikaze' and 'Nishikaze' from the trophy case..."

As he said that her heart jumped. "B... but father! Those are—"

"Yes... Yes, I know. Those are the precious wristbands that our forefathers and foremothers wore when they won their championships in the 'Heaven Fist' tournaments of China years ago. I want you to wear these as you and Fen travel the world on your journey. I believe they will give you the inner strength you need to overcome any obstacles that may come your way."

In an instant Mei-Ling felt a heavy burden grown on her shoulders. "Father... do... do you really think I am ready to...?"

"Mei-Ling..." he reassured, "I haven't been more sure about anything in my life."

"Dad... I... I... I'll protect them with my life. I guarantee it."

Mei-Ling's father smiled. "I know you will. Now get some rest and start getting ready for your journey. Tomorrow's a new day."

"Yes. Goodnight, father."

"Take care, Mei-Ling."

A loving hug and kiss later, Mei-Ling was gone from the room. As the door closed, the father closed his eyes and prepared to rest.

_{Mei-Ling... this is my gift to you... I know that you'll do just fine uncovering the true secrets within the Kochikaze and Nishikaze...}_

**30 minutes later**

"Welcome back, Mei-Ling! How is father doing?"

"He's doing just fine, Jiao. Don't you worry."

Mei-Ling was greeted at the door of her home by her sister, who had eagerly awaited her arrival ever since she herself returned home. It was really late at night when Mei-Ling got home, so she was glad to be treated by the lights that illuminated the foyer of the home.

"I watched the news earlier today," Jiao said as the two walked away from the door and towards the kitchen area. "I can't believe that you and Fen actually did all that! I would've been scared if I were you."

"Well... it was instinct..." Mei-Ling found herself saying. "Trust me, it was a dangerous situation. I was scared myself."

"Aaaah..." Jiao awed as they stepped foot into the kitchen area. The lighting was rather dim, only spouting from the ceiling over the counter area instead of the main light hanging on the ceiling. There was a table right in the middle complete with chairs, as well as a stove, refrigerator, and other casual household appliances. "Well, anyways, mother kept a batch of dinner out for you. It's on the counter."

"Thanks," the older sibling answered, about to head that way to start eating, but she stopped. She looked back towards her little sister and asked, "Where is mother, anyway?"

"She is resting."

Mei-Ling nodded. "Jiao, I need you to tell her and Shin something..."

Jiao blinked. "What is it?"

"Jiao, I'm... going away for a while. Fen and I are going to travel the world in search of the people responsible for this mess."

"You are? Wow... I knew you'd say that you would do something like this... but so sudden?"

Mei-Ling nodded. "I already talked to father about it."

"And he's letting you go..."

"Yes. I don't want to wake mother or Shin up, so I want you to let them know tomorrow morning."

Jiao took a pause before nodding. "Sure, Mei-Ling. I... can't say to have fun out there but I can say to be careful out there. I remember the epidemic that spread because of that place a few years ago..."

"I know. That's why we're going to stop it before any more suffer."

Jiao looked at Mei-Ling for a few more seconds before leaning over and giving her a quick hug.

"Be sure to call regularly, ok?"

"Ok... Now, you go on off to bed. I'm going to go off and eat."

"Ok," the younger sister replied while passing her and out of the room to head upstairs. "Good night, Mei-Ling."

As her sister went out of sight, Mei-Ling looked at the solitary plate of food that remained on the counter. She wasn't able to tell what the contents were since another plate was over it to keep other 'things' from getting to it. Smirking a bit, Mei-Ling thought about trying to go eat, but another thought got to her.

_{I'll be back for that... but first...}_

Mei-Ling turned around and went across the kitchen area to another hallway. The hall was completely dark since it was so late and no on was supposed to leave lights on in the house once the day was over, but Mei-Ling knew the entire house well enough to go through it blindfolded. She passed numerous paintings on both sides of the wall as she came closer and closer to the end, where wooden double doors blocked her path. As she approached them, she put her hand on it, savoring the grooves that lay in it. She reached a lever and pulled it, opening one of the doors and stepping in...

_{The dojo...} _she thought, her sneakers echoing each step she took into the large wooden training facility. Unlike the rest of the lower level of the house, the dojo was lit by candles the led a path from the door to the other end. Mei-Ling followed the path all the way, until she stopped and laid her eyes on the family treasures. In front of her lay weapons from Chinese history that impacted her family for generations. Swords, arrows, and other equipment of warriors were showcased in their own glass cases like a mini museum. However, none of these were the two items that Mei-Ling were searching for. She looked upwards onto the wall, and just in front of her were two metallic bracelets. They both had the same look (mostly white with red stripes on the sides) except for the design that was imprinted onto its middle. The one to the left showed a blue design of a gust of wind on it. The one to the right showed a more intense gale, dubbed with a red tint.

_{The Kochikaze and Nishikaze...}_ Mei-Ling thought, her hands reaching up to open the case that contained the century-old bracelets. _{Father... I will treasure them as long as I wear them...}_

Taking her time, Mei-Ling slowly reached and unlatched the family heirlooms from their hooks. This was the first time in her life that she actually touched them. She always thought that they were pretty when she was younger, and always dreamed of wearing them. However, now that she was able to... the feeling was different than what she expected. She didn't exactly felt a childish-like happy, but more like a mature sense of responsibility. Her body felt more powerful as she grasped them in her hands. It was then that she realized why her father gave them to her.

After a while, Mei-Ling put them in her jean pockets and closed the case. She then turned around to head back into the kitchen to eat. From there she'd pack her things for her trip. This was the start of a new challenge for her... One that she was ready for.


	6. Early Morning Showdown

**_CHAPTER 6: EARLY MORNING SHOWDOWN_**

**Tokyo, Japan: 6:30 A.M.**

"Look alive you three. Direct orders from the big girl herself."

Vexx, Kai, & Saya looked up from their little spot in the corner of a vacant hallway to find someone in a long black trench coat looming over them. It was a night of short sleep for the siblings, having to wake up at the crack of dawn to meet this stranger, but there was no time to complain about it. As Vexx put it...

"It's time to get down to business," the oldest one said, standing up and facing the cloaked person. "You got something for us?"

"Correction. You've got something for me first, don't you, big guy...?"

Vexx merely gave a low scowl as the guy went on.

"Sakura's fighting data... You guys had quite a while to get it... so... do you?"

This time, however, Vexx smirked.

"Saya..." he called, gesturing his younger sister with his hand without looking back at her. Saya looked up, a tired look in her eyes then dug into her shirt pocket, retrieving a black CD from it. It was a quick transaction between her to her brother and them from him to the man in front of them.

"Nice... That concludes this little assignment you three had. Now that we've got all the data on all three members of that posse, it'll be only a matter of time before—'

"Yeah, yeah," Vexx interrupted in an annoyed voice. "You can do all that monologue crap on your own time. The next assignment..."

"Yeah... sure. Right downstairs there's a package waiting to be delivered. I know a certain couple that are going to freak when the see it."

"Oh, really?" the oldest replied. "Let's walk then... Saya. Kai. Let's move."

Kai, who was previously busy doing some work on his laptop behind the others, merely fixed his glasses and closed it up, standing up while running a hand through his long hair. As he passed, Saya just looked on. The girl didn't move automatically. Her eyes remained on the stranger as he and her brothers started to disappear into the darkness of the hallway. She heaved a quiet sigh and reluctantly followed.

It didn't take long for the four of them to reach the end of the hallway where an old-fashioned elevator awaited them. They stepped inside and the mysterious man pressed the ground floor button. The elevator fence doors closed automatically and the transportation device jerked before slowly moving downward. As the quiet remained, Saya looked to her side, where she could see the buildings of downtown Tokyo through the moldings of the building they were currently in. Saya took this time to close here eyes... and to reflect...

_Flashback_

"_Everyone, this is NOT a drill. Repeat, this is NOT a drill. The ship has struck something and has taken heavy damage. Please make your way to the nearest escape pod and board on it in a calm manner. Repeat, this is NOT a drill."_

_Whoever thought that people would get to a lifeboat in the mist of a vicious storm and board on it calmly was a nutcase. Passengers left and right all rushed like mice trying to get whatever items they held dear and quickly make their way to the nearest lifeboat before they met the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean. My family wasn't any different in the matter. We were normal, after all. I was still very young when this all happened. I was only about 7 or so. I remember myself sitting on the bed to our room, looking around nervously as everyone else made haste getting the most important valuables they could get in their hands. It was supposed to be just a normal 5 day cruise... but on the 3rd day, the ship was caught in a heavy storm and was having difficulty maintaining itself. The winds were harsh outside our door and window; I could feel them furiously scraping at the glass. The boat felt like a water bed, not at all steady as it tried to move forward. I could remember myself crying as this was all happening... It was all too much for a young girl my age..._

"_Mommy, I'm scared!" I kept wailing. I wanted to believe that this wasn't happening. What was going to happen to us? Were we going to be alright?_

"_Don't worry, sweetie," came her soft voice as she spun around from the dresser drawer and gave me my purple raincoat and hat. "Everything's going to be alright."_

_I still remember her face. She was American-born and a blond herself, with a light face that always made me feel better when I was down. This time, however, I was truly petrified. Not even my mother could calm me down at first. While trying to stop crying I took my raincoat and put it on. As I did this, I could remember Meji's voice from the front door._

"_Mom! Dad! Come on! Everyone's already manning the last of the lifeboats! If we don't leave now—"_

"_Don't worry, Meji," came my father's voice. "We're going to make it. Kai! Let's get out of here, now!"_

_As I look back at it, my oldest brother didn't look as massive as he was now. Not at all. He was like my brother, Kai; much less toned up but taller than everyone else in the family. His hair was much shorter and worn rather messily, but he was a nice person to be around. He was always there for us, looking out for Kai and me ever since we could remember. Across the room from him was my other brother, Kai. He was by no means a technological wizard like today. No. This Kai was a bit of a dolt. This Kai was more laid back and always had a knack at goofing off. Although I must admit that this was not the time for him to be looking for his favorite colored Game Boy, it was that trait that made him who he was. My brother._

"_Ok, I'm ready!" he shouted, putting the yellow special edition Game Boy Color into his coat pocket and joining my father and older brother at the door. I was too scared to move, however, so my mother came over to pick me up from the bed and carry me to the door. In a hurry my father threw the door open and quickly we joined the other tenants on the ship in our frantic search for an escape. It was then that I noticed how severe the ship's condition was. There was smoke coming from behind us and the roughness of the waves was making things worse. There was screaming and yelling and commotion all around us and with no way in stopping soon. As the others ran, I held on tightly to my mother's body. I never saw so much chaos before..._

"_Come on," an operative's voice shot through the air. "Not much farther!"_

_Everything was moving in a blur to my little eyes. I could barely realize what was happening at all. Unfortunately, that meant I couldn't realize that some nutcase from behind us obviously thought he was of more importance than anyone else on the ship. I didn't see what... and half of me wanted to and the other half didn't, but I could only hear it..._

"_Out of my way! I'm not going to die here because of people like you!"_

"_HEY! Watch where you're going! You want me to throw you over—"_

"_Mom! I can see it! I can see the boats!"_

"_Just keep going, Kai! Don't stop!"_

_We were going to make it..._

_BOOM_

_Suddenly the ship rocked to its side as a deafening explosion rang through the air. I thought the boat was going to flip over right there and there, but it did shake violently. My mother lost her footing and dropped me, my small body tumbling forward towards the edge of the dock. On instinct I forced myself to stop, but I fell pretty hard. My left leg was hurting pretty badly and I started to cry, my tears being fueled by the rain from the dark sky above._

"_SISTER! Don't worry! I gotcha!"_

_Kai's voice... He was close. I could feel it. I started to lift my head to look for him, but I only saw his pants before someone else scrambled in-between us. At the same time the ship rocked again and that was where my life, as well as my brothers', changed forever. It started with Kai, who was rammed straight into the wall headfirst with so much force it could've cracked an egg. He cried out in an odd voice as his body slumped to the ground, his eyes closed. I could hear my mother scream at the same time. I instantly sat up while turning around, staring in horror as my mother was pitched over the side railing due to that bastard's rush._

"_MARIENE!" my father shot out as I watched her body plummet. It all moved in slow motion. She just seemed to just get smaller and smaller in my sight... until the waves jumped and swallowed her body... and lightning struck just as she smacked the ocean's surface._

"_MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" my own shocked voice filled my eardrums. Without much time to react to it, I found my father jumping over the rail on his own will, desperate to get to our mother and his wife. He fell in rather recklessly, but he quickly resurfaced, coughing from the water he swallowed. My mother didn't..._

_I just sat there, unable to move. I couldn't even think. All I could do was watch on as my father began to search the area for any sign of my mother._

"_Come on, Saya! We've gotta go, NOW!"_

"_Meji! Mom! Dad! What about--!"_

"_There's no time! Come on! We've gotta get onto a boat!"_

_Against my will and cries, I felt Meji wrap his arms around my frail body and hoist me under his arm. I barely noticed Kai in his other arm, still unconscious from the crash he suffered. My eyes still wouldn't come off the spot where my parents went overboard at, so I didn't see Meji jump into a surprisingly vacant and luxurious lifeboat and sit us down on the red cushion bench near the middle. He then stood up and undid the chains to the boat, and within a second our boat splashed onto the surface. Water splashed all over me, but I didn't care. I couldn't see where my mother or father were in the sea. I ignored the shouts from above, which came from several very angry people from the deck. Apparently Meji just hijacked the most expensive and reserved lifeboat which was for the more wealthy riders on the ship. It didn't matter. Those selfish bastards couldn't realize what was going through our minds at the moment._

"_Meji... We... We have to go find them. We just have to..."_

"_Saya, we can't. We have to go and meet up with the rest of the people on the lifeboats."_

"_We can't abandon our parents!"_

"_...alright. Don't worry, dad! We're coming! We'll find you!"_

_Ten minutes passed... Meji used the lifeboat's motor to move it to where our parents were last at... but there were no trace of them... Once it all hit me, I was at a loss of words. I just kept looking at the angry sea, ran falling over my young face to hide my tears. Meji reluctantly put the lifeboat in gear and without saying a word to me raced to catch up to the other lifeboats. We did... and after a few hours another cruise ship came to pick us up. By this time the ship we were previously on had long since exploded and sunk. It turns out that there was an engine malfunction that was aided by someone crashing some heavy duty material into it by accident. We had lost everything on that ship. Our clothes, our passports, our money savings... and even worse... Once Kai woke up from his coma a few weeks later, he was diagnosed with level 5 amnesia, unable to remember anything at all... Meji tried his best to explain things to him in the hospital but I don't think Kai ever understood it. He was a totally different person by then... So quiet... So... cold... It was a shame..._

_He forgot that we were on that ship..._

_He forgot that there was an accident in the first place..._

_He forgot that we lost everything we held dear... Including the most important things to us..._

_Our parents..._

_End Flashback_

_I wonder why... _was all Saya's mind could think of before the view she was watching was blocked by solid bricks. The elevator slowed to a stop. Ground floor.

Saya's attention turned to her front, where an underground parking lot awaited her. She heard the man muter, "Follow me," as her older brothers walked with him. She put her hands in her pockets and followed suit. Like a majority of the building before, the lot was dark despite it being early morning. No cars were in the lot, however... Just a pick-up truck... which held some type of capsule big enough to hold something rather large in it.

"Thar she blows..." the guy joked semi-heartedly. "Big R wants this lug dropped off here..." He then handed Vexx a paper, obviously containing directions. "Careful with the goods, man. The... 'gift' is likely to get jumpy if shaken and not stirred."

Vexx nodded. "Yeah... I gotcha."

"Well, my work here's done. See ya. I'll go give this to the big girl so she can do what she got to do with it."

As he left, Saya took a look at the capsule in the truck.

_What's so special about that...? she thought._

"Hey, Saya, it's 7:00," Kai mentioned. "You best get out of here and get ready for school, ok?"

Saya looked up to Kai and nodded. "Yeah. Sure."

He looked up to find the open driveway out of the lot and started to make her way to it. Just before she ran out of earshot, she heard the engine start and the truck sped past her and turned onto its destination. Saya just sighed and went the opposite direction to her house... Not home.

**Tokyo, Japan 7:15 A.M.**

"Look, do you want the final paperwork or not? Mister, I assure you and you might not realize it, but I'm one of the best you got... At least I'm trying to give you—"

Sakura just gave her husband a mute look. "I thought you said that this would be a piece of cake..."

_Yeah, I thought so, too, _Darrell thought. _This business deal is making these people act like complete idiots..._

"Uh-huh... Uh-huh... Yeah. Yeah, he does have the papers... Look, this is pretty important in its own right... Hey, do I look like the type of person to bail out of something like this?"

A moment of silence...

"Yeah... I don't know when this'll end, but I got to do this..."

Another pause...

"Great! That helps a lot. Thanks. Good luck, but if I was you, I wouldn't worry so much. You don't have anything to worry about with the stuff I got for you... I'll be sure to keep in touch... See you guys later."

Breathing a deep sigh, Darrell cut off his cell phone and pushed his car forward through the familiar Tokyo streets. It was still really early in the morning, but it was necessary for him to get Sakura to Tamagawa Minami High as soon as possible. There were a lot of preparations they needed to go through before their adventure could begin and they needed to be quick about everything to be on time.

"We've got to meet Chun-Li and this Ace guy at the school," Sakura reminded. "Knowing the head now, she's my ticket out of here.

"Don't worry. I haven't forgotten, and this will go by just fine... Ah. There she is."

The Galant pulled into a parking space right across from the front gates of the huge high school. From their position they could clearly see the detectives waiting for them on a bench in the courtyard. There were only a few other people around the area, save for a stray group of students hanging outside the school grounds. Sakura's focus wasn't on them, however. She didn't have just bigger fish to fry. She had a whale.

"Good morning," Chun-Li greeted as the couple crossed the street and made their way towards her and her partner. This morning she was wearing something a lot more formal than her jumpsuit from the other night; a dress accompanied with normal shoes. Next to her was Ace, wearing formal clothes as well. After saying hello, Sakura decided to lead the way inside, opening the doors for the rest of her party to come on in. After a short jump up a flight of stairs, the group found their way to the main lobby of the school. Although Sakura still came here as a teacher, she couldn't help but feel nostalgic about coming here every day after graduation years ago. Not much has changed ever since she, Darrell, and Kei graduated. The halls were still the same brownish/beige color, however now some walls houses more up-to-date pictures from up and coming artists from random grade levels. Hung on the walls was the Hall of Valedictorians; pictures of the leading student of the graduating class from the current year back to when the school was first founded. After that were sets of lockers and classrooms, all leading up to the front office.

"You know, I really appreciate what you're doing for me right now," Sakura said to Chun-Li as they stepped into the office, rich with the smell of school supplies and computer hardware. "I could use all the help I could get to get this message through this guy's head."

"Is he really that bad?"

"You just don't know..." was all Sakura muttered as she went to the front desk to greet the secretary. "Hey, Yaroshiro. How's it going?"

The guy behind the desk was busy working with the computer when Sakura spoke to him, but that didn't stop him from saying, "Hey, Sakura. Why are you here so early?"

"I've got to see the 'head master', if you know what I mean..."

"Ah... you and your friends there, too, correct? Oh, hi, Darrell. Surprise seeing you here."

Darrell just shrugged and then raised a hand to say hi. "You know... it's not everyday I get out the office... but when I've got business, I must attend to it, you know?"

"Yeah, I hear you on that. Well, he's pretty much free right now, why don't you go right on it, eh?"

Sakura nodded then turned around to gesture the rest along with her. "Let's get this over with."

**Tokyo, Japan: 7:17 A.M.**

Meanwhile, separate from the main party city of Tokyo stood a mansion. To call it a house on a hill wouldn't be exaggerating at all. The white marble complex sat on top of a large, grassy hill, a few miles away from downtown. At first no activity was present at the front entrance, but suddenly the wind started to pick up. The grass swayed around along with the leaves on the trees... and within an instant the road leading up to the gate had two sets of sneakers sitting on it.

"Phew!" Kaoru breather, dropping her travel bag on the pavement below her, "what a trip..."

Her companion, Yui, just flicked at his hair that fell over his face. "Kaoru... tell me... How often do you do this Continent Jump of yours?"

"Quite often... It serves for good training, plus it saves me a lot of travel money. Oh, and it's called, 'Awaikage'."

"I see... Well, then... do you always have passengers, because the trip was a little rough."

Kaoru smiled as she made her way to the gate. "Oh, stop exaggerating... I'm the one who has to do all the work, you know."

Yui quickly smirked and then followed her. "So where are we, anyway?"

Kaoru didn't answer tight away, taking the time to press the button on the intercom speaker to the left of the gate. Once she did, she then responded.

"The Kanzuki Complex."

Yui raised an eyebrow. "Oh... This is where you said you'll be able to find Rose, correct?"

"Yep," Kaoru nodded. "It shouldn't take too—"

"Hello and welcome to the Kanzuki Estate. Please state your name and business."

Kaoru faced the intercom that cut her off. "Kaoru Miadama... and I'm here to see Ms. Karin Kanzuki."

"One moment's please."

"Sure."

The intercom shut off temporarily afterwards. Yui grabbed hold to the straps on his book bag as he waited, his eyes on Kaoru. After a while of silence aside from the swaying of the breeze, the intercom light flashed back on.

"Mrs. Miadama-Su'ang?"

"Yes?"

"Come on in."

On cue, the gates opened up wide, permitting the couple to move forward. Kaoru grabbed her bag from the ground and the, without having to signal Yui to come, started to walk. This wasn't the first time Kaoru had been here, but for Yui it was. The road they were walking on made its way straight to the front door under an underpass. To the left and in the distance the Korean man could see a heliport complete with a helicopter sitting dormant on it, and hidden to the eyes lay a large recreational court for numerous sports behind it all.

"Impressed?" Kaoru asked as they made their way to the first door.

"Well, compared to our little house, yes," Yui answered. The moment they approached the door it opened automatically, exposing Karin's personal aid, Shibizaki. He was a bit tall, wearing a black tuxedo along with the works and glasses as always. Age did seem to be catching up to him a bit as a few small but noticeable wrinkles appeared on his face, but other than that he still had the same appearance he did years ago.

"Ms. Karin is looking forward into meeting you. Please. Right this way."

Kaoru nodded and followed Shibizaki, Yui not too far behind her. The foyer of the mansion was impressive enough with tiled windows on the walls and rare paintings in-between, as well as sparkling floors and a water fountain right in front of the door. The butler led the couple to the right, ignoring the huge spiral staircase behind the fountain and down a long corridor, the morning sunlight bearing through the large windows. As they walked, Yui fought the temptation to take photos of everything he saw. The Complex was truly beautiful.

"So, Shibizaki," Kaoru opened up, "How are things with you? It's been a while since I've seen you."

"Ah, yes, Ms. Miadama. A good three and a half years since Ms. Kanzuki hosted your wedding. Things are rather splendid. Thank you for asking."

"You're welcome. I mean, it's not every day that I visit people. I'm always busy training myself and exploring the world, so, you know, I need to know how friends are going every time I'm in the area."

"Ah. I understand. So you are still in the circuit then?"

"Yes."

"That is great news. That is why Ms. Kanzuki was so anxious in seeing you once I mentioned your name to her."

Kaoru gave Karin's butler a look as they made their way deeper into the mansion; a look which he didn't receive. "Oh? Is that so?"

"Yes. She's been waiting for someone to try out her new techniques. She was considering challenging Mrs. Kasugano on Saturday, but since you've decided to drop by..."

"I get it..." Kaoru interrupted. "She wants a training dummy."

"If you want to put it that way, then yes," the butler replied, finally stopping in front of an open door. From inside, yells and grunts filled the air as well as the sound of a ball being swatted back and forth.

"Ms. Kanzuki is in there," Shibizaki said.

"Alright," Kaoru accepted, "and thanks for the tour."

Shibizaki nodded and went farther down the hall, obviously to attend to his own duties. Kaoru then gave Yui a smug look.

"Shall we say 'hi'?" she asked.

"Be my guest," he replied. The two stepped into the pure white room, which at first glance clearly looked like a recreational room. Kaoru and Yui could see arcades, ping pong tables, a jukebox (which was currently active), a refreshment stand, and about two dozen other activities and devices that's make any 12 year old kid go crazy for a few days. To the left were a few large empty rooms, closed off by transparent glass doors. As the two walked down and then forward the sounds of action grew in volume. Finally, after stopping at the second to last room, Kaoru stopped and laid eyes on a woman. She had her back facing her and Yui, only showing her golden yellow hair which swayed in its fashionable design and her baby blue workout attire and sneakers. The woman sprinted side to side, using her hands to slap back a rather small rubber ball against the opposing wall. With each shot of the ball it seemed to travel and bounce back faster than before, but the woman kept perfect track of its trajectory, keeping it in play. Kaoru and Yui watched on in silence as she kept the pace up, until finally she slapped it one final time with a mighty yell. The ball rocketed towards the wall and ricocheted back to the yellow haired woman at lightning speed, but even then she calmly put out a hand and caught it just before it hit her face. Kaoru whistled.

"Nice, Karin," she congratulated. "Had that been anyone else I swear that would've hit home easily."

It was with that the woman in the glass room turned around and faced the duo. A lock of her golden hair fell in front of her right eye, leaving the left to expose her blue eyes. Her shirt was tied in the front, clearly exposing his midsection and as she exited the glass room. Yui could see that she wore a ribbon on the side of her head.

"Well, well," Karin opened up, "I see that Shibizaki was right. It is you, Kaoru, and I also see you brought your husband with you. Not bad."

Kaoru twisted her mouth. "Well hello to you, too."

"Shibizaki said that you need to see me for something," the owner of the Kanzuki complex said while grabbing a towel from the rack outside the door and wiping the sweat off her face. "I found that as a pretty big surprise, coming from an independent woman such as yourself..."

"Yeah, well, this is something that I can't do on my own. I could use some assistance. So... do you think you can help me or not."

Karin folded the towel she had in her hands and put it on the part of the rack called 'discarded' and made full eye-contact with Kaoru. "It depends. What's the problem exactly?"

"I need help finding a friend of mine... or rather, my mentor. Her name is Rose, and lately I've lost contact with her. Not just physically, but spiritually. I was wondering if your sources could track her down for me."

"Well, sure they can," Karin boasted. "They aren't called "State of the Art" for nothing... However... there is a fee for the service..."

Kaoru half-frowned, half-smirked. "I sort of recognized that. Your butler said that you've got some new tricks up your sleeve."

Karin's confident smile only grew. "Not just any new tricks. I've dug into the best of the Kanzuki style martial arts and chose the best techniques. I was planning on testing them out on Sakura, your sister, but since you're here, I won't have to wait."

"I see... You need a playmate. Well, if that's the case, let's play, then."

"Oh, but you can't fight in those rags..." Karin pointed out, pointing at Kaoru's jacket and jeans. "Come. I'll give you something more... suitable for a match of this caliber..."

**20 minutes later...**

"Well, Kaoru, I got to hand it to Karin. She sure can pick out some really snazzy clothing for just a spar."

"Tell me about it, Yui..." Kaoru muttered, looking down at the new 'fighting attire' that Karin had given her. Aside from her sneakers, her clothes closely resembled that of what Karin's current attire, except it was in a black and red color in contrast to Karin's blue. Luckily she brought her own fighting gloves to differ herself from not being a full clone of her rival. Karin just looked at the darker-skinned fighter, amused.

"Not bad... Not bad at all... It looks good on you, Kaoru. All that's missing is the little red ribbon planted on that short, black hair of yours and you could pass off as a nice little sister of mine."

Kaoru slowly looked back at Karin with a dulled evil eye, however, it was counteracted by her cheeks, which reddened from pure embarrassment. "Let's just get this over with..."

Karin shrugged in response. "Fine by me. Come on."

The rich girl lead Kaoru to another room next to the one she was in previous. It looked much like the one next to it; only a bit bigger to permit mobility for a fight. Kaoru closed the door right behind her and turned to face her new opponent, who didn't even bother to warm up.

"Whenever you're ready," Karin called. "Go on and loosen up. You're going to need it for what I'm going to show and do to you."

"Don't worry about me... This shouldn't take long at all. Remember, I don't go easy on you like Sakura and the rest of our friends do."

Karin immediately gave her trademark laugh, which, over the years, oddly sounded more pleasant to the ears. "You're so funny! Kidding around like that... Anyway, let's get started."

Kaoru responded by getting into her fighting stance. "Surely."

The younger fighter put her hands up in a similar way that her sister did, only it didn't look the same. Nevertheless, it didn't last long. Kaoru shot foreword to begin the match with a hard roundhouse to the body. Karin evaded. Just as she tried to deliver a follow up punch, she used that arm to block Karin's palm strike. The rich girl came back with a bunch of random strikes but Kaoru successfully blocked them all. Seeking an opening, Kaoru found it as she ducked another high attack and returned with a sweep kick. It didn't knock Karin down but Karin did stagger from it. Kaoru then went offensive, throwing out an overhead punch, but later regretted it as suddenly she found herself being pulled forward, a close shoulder landing into her chin, and then finally flipped over her opponent's body and to the floor. As soon as she landed, a bit disorientated though, the tanned fighter rolled away from Karin and to her feet, facing her with a bewildered look in her eyes.

"What in the world...?" Kaoru gasped. Karin just smiled.

"I told you I've learned new techniques. My Yasha Reverse is just one of them."

Kaoru patted her shoulder as Karin finished her sentence. "Oh... I see then..."

Before Karin could pick it up, Kaoru's black hair seemed to instantly grow in length, whipping around her body and hiding her body out of sight. By the time the shade died down a half-second later, Kaoru was gone...

"Nani?" Karin yelped, her eyes growing wide, completely thrown off guard. Next thing she knew, a firm kick found its way on her backside, making her reel forwards and into the wall. Karin let out a low growl as she turned to face Kaoru, but quickly found herself dodging to the side to avoid a fist from above. As the traveler landed, Karin moved in to attempt a grab, but Kaoru quickly pushed her off with her shoulder to break it up. Karin quickly recovered and took another chance, dashed in quickly to plant a firm palm strike before Kaoru could attack. She then threw a second of her Gurenkens that was semi-intentionally blocked with Kaoru's left arm, but she wasn't prepared for Karin's Daisoku Barai, finding herself swept off her feet by Karin's sliding sweep.

Kaoru put a hand down on the ground to keep from falling then put that same hand out upon getting up fully to parry an overhead spin kick to buy time and retaliate with a fist to the side. As Karin backed away from the impact, Kaoru quickly brought her hands to chest level...

"Ha!" she shouted, blasting off a silver bullet of energy at lightning speed. If Karin was aware of what Kaoru was doing, she could have parried it just like she did the ball she worked out with earlier. However, this wasn't the case. The energy ball known to Kaoru as the Doushaburi hit home, pushing her opponent back and into another wall. Karin held a hand to her own chest and took a deep breath, recapturing her senses from almost being winded by the sudden blast. She needed it, too, since Kaoru was all over her like a housefly on sugar. Karin had to deal with blocking with little room to maneuver as Kaoru kept the pressure on with rapid shots of her fists. Under the assault the rich girl could feel her arms beginning to give way to Kaoru's power and decided to make an opening for herself.

Karin managed to catch a fist to her face before it hit and threw her elbow into Kaoru's face. As Kaoru staggered back, holding her jaw from the sharp counterattack, Karin stepped forward attacked with a second, more powerful elbow to Kaoru's stomach. Kaoru gasped in pain before meeting the third elbow of Karin's Ressenchou, this one to the face. Unlike most opponents who'd be on their backs by now, Kaoru kept reeling backward, her sneakers leaving small black streaks and squeaking against the floor as she slid. Watching Kaoru hold her head and her stomach with her hands, the heir of the Kanzuki Complex decided to keep up her pace.

"No use nursing yourself, Kaoru! Hooo!"

Karin jumped forwards while spinning towards her foe, her arms arching above her head to signal her Ressnha attack. Kaoru, however, saw her coming clearly and recovered from her stun, her right hand forming a fist to her side. She then ducked down a bit to brace herself...

_Come on... _she silently said to herself, waiting for the moment just before Karin could strike while at the same time feeling her fist start to glow a gray color. Before it could fully take shape, Kaoru jumped, hitting Karin out of her special move with a wicked 4 hit uppercut while spinning 180 degrees, then, as she reached her peak, performed a stylish back flip while turning the other 180 degrees, just in time to recover from her Yotakaken and see Karin's body fall flat on her back.

"K... Kuso...!" Karin swore in Japanese, pulling herself to get into at least a sitting position, breathing deeply. Soon afterwards, a shadow loomed over her and Karin looked up to see Kaoru's image.

"So... have you gotten enough of a beating?" she asked while brushing off the clothes Karin gave her, "or do you want me to really lay it on you?"

"Trust me, Kaoru... I've only begun to fight."

Kaoru backed up a few steps to let Karin rise to her feet on her own will, her eyes closed as if to steady herself. However, that wasn't exactly the case here... Karin's ki strength seemed to grow stronger and her clothes seemed to ripple in a sudden gust of wind, which was odd seeing that the room was closed off with no open windows...

"Huh...?" Kaoru murmured, obviously taken aback by this turn of events. "Karin...? What is this? Some type of trick?"

"No... Not even close. Prepare to see the ultimate technique of Kanzuki style martial arts!"

With a mighty shout, Karin's hair shot up for a brief second, for the first time Karin showing both her eyes before the lock fell back down.

"Ikuzo!" Karin shouted confidently, her fighting stance changing to a more intimidating look. Yui looked on with awe outside the room. He could see that Karin's body tone tensed up from whatever just happened... Even from there he could sense it; Karin was done playing around the bush.

Kaoru wasn't planning on saying anything in response to Karin, but in reality even if she did she wouldn't have gotten two words out. Karin quickly found herself close to her and dished out an even more powerful Gurenken chain, the attacks much faster than before. Before Kaoru knew it, her body was launched into the air four hits later by Karin's twin kicks, the Mujinkyaku. Once she reached the 'peak' of her flight, Kaoru managed to flip to recover to prevent herself from getting hit by Karin's follow up uppercut. Kaoru landed and then ducked, retaliating with a few light attacks that were easily blocked. The tanned fighter then took a pause, hoping to throw off her rival by the break of action, then opted to come inside to throw the first spinning low kick for her Shutsuga Ki special move. However, Karin was ready. She grabbed Kaoru's sneaker with one hand...

"AMAI!" she shouted, throwing her arm upwards so fast it made her opponent violently flip several times in the air before landing on the floor... on her neck... Hard. From the sidelines, Yui winced as he heard the impact along with Kaoru's yell of pain as her body flopped down along with her head.

_Ouch... _he commented in his head as he looked at his wife, downed, yet still slowly getting to her hands and knees. The sudden and powerful counter totally threw her off her momentum... and the bad thing was that she KNEW Karin's Yasha Counters weren't that strong before. It simply left her bewildered. Karin, on the other hand, took Kaoru's delay as the perfect opportunity to strike...

"Prepare yourself!" she shouted, once again channeling her strength for her next, and hopefully final attack. Once she had enough...

"SHINPI... KAIBYAKI!"

As if her life depended on it, Kaoru willed her body to stand and get ready to guard Karin's barrage of Gurenkens, Hoshos, and Ressenchous. She saw Karin do her signature Super Art on Sakura during one of their friendly bouts. She had 9 hits to block before Karin stopped her attack... At least that was what she remembered. However, Karin wasn't showing any signs of stopping. Once she thought she was in the clear, Karin kept on attacking, now going past the "9 hits" Kaoru thought made up her super attack and starting to wear her down with varying blows to different points of her body...

_Come on... _Kaoru moaned inside her head. _Just when is she going to stop...?_

"Give it up!" Karin taunted. "This will... END IT!"

A slight pause as Karin winded up to deliver the final Gurenken... Kaoru's body headed the call and reacted out of sheer desperation.

_ONLY NOW, KAORU!_

Kaoru forced her now weary body to break its defensive stature and then throw her arm forward... It was a gamble... all that happened within less than a second, but long and behold, Kaoru managed to parry the last attack form Karin's palm.

"Aaaah!" Karin cried out, shocked that Kaoru managed to do that. She scrambled to pull away to block...

"Oh, no you don't!" Kaoru shouted, ducking down to gather the remainder of her ki energy that wasn't drained from her risky maneuver and ducked down to the floor, her right fist starting to glow perfect gray...

"HERE! TAKE THIS!"

First, Kaoru struck point blank with the powered fist into Karin's stomach and rose into the air like her Yotakaken, only the rising execution was slower. As the traveler rose up she turned around to face away from her opponent, once again like her Yotakaken, only this time her hands found their way to her bosom, gathering as much energy as she could muster to form a silver sphere of energy...

"Aporusubashirochou..."

The word came out as low as a whisper... but as Kaoru turned back around, the attack was far from quiet.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Kaoru's sphere unloaded from her energy into a solid blast, engulfing Kaoru almost fully. As quickly as it formed, it then spread out in the shape of a butterfly's wings and then disappeared, and just as quickly as if formed, that's nearly as fast as Karin's body as it crashed into the floor, almost cracking the tile. The attack caused a huge rip in Karin's expensive workout shirt; proof that Kaoru was not holding back anything from her Super Art at all. As his wife landed, Yui just sat there, amazed.

_I knew she had the potential... but I didn't think that she could harness it so well in only a few years... She sure is stronger from the Kaoru I knew the first time we met..._

Inside the dorm, Kaoru slid down to her knees, sitting on her legs. Her breathing was hard and sweat trickled down her head and her body. It didn't take a genius to know that she was tired...

_Man... I... I never had to use so much effort in a long while..._ the young tanned woman thought. _Just what... was Karin doing the past few years to get so strong...?_

After heaving a sigh and wiping an arm over her forehead, Kaoru then slowly got up to her feet, walking over to her friend's exhausted body. As she looked down at her, she noticed that Karin's body tone went back to normal and that rise in ki obviously dropped. Just then Karin's eyes, which were closed, fluttered open. At first she didn't say anything, instead blinking slowly at first, then rapidly to try to clear her eyes. She then moaned as the pain from the Aporu Subashirochou settled into her brain. After a while, however, she stopped, her pupils straight on the girl who just beat her.

"Shoot..." she spoke. "I could have sworn that would have done you in."

Kaoru didn't respond to that, but she did ask her own question. "That move... Earlier... When your ki jumped and all... Since when did you...?"

Karin interrupted by blowing at the lock of hair which rested on her face, then responded with...

"The Kanzuki style of self-defense secret technique... Kentoushou... Increases power... speed... defense... precision... All in all provides more... efficiency by focusing the body... into a more... precise state. I... I'll admit, I'm still... trying to... master it... but I'm getting there..."

Kaoru nodded in respect and understanding. "Well... I'll admit... I didn't have such a workout in quite a while. I guess I'm not the only one improving out there."

In a somewhat rare show from Kaoru, she bent down and held her hand out for Karin to grab onto, sharing a small smile. Both sighed simultaneously, obviously by coincidence, and Karin then grabbed hold to Kaoru's hand and pulled herself up, looking down at her tattered shirt.

"Whoops..." Kaoru said. "I... I guess I owe you a shirt..."

Karin shook it off. "No, it's quite alright. I have a million of these. Now... that you've paid your fee, I guess now you'd like to find your mentor, correct?"

"Yes."

"Ok. After you and I freshen up some, we'll go on and handle your business. Follow me. I'll lead you to my guest bathroom..."

**20 minutes later...**

"State of the art indeed," Kaoru marveled. After 'freshening up' like Karin instructed and replacing the workout outfit for her old duds, it wasn't long until she found herself in another building separate from the main mansion, surrounded by computers of massive proportions with people running them, others working diligently in their labs. Although she knew Karin ran the entire Kanzuki Complex, she never thought about actually seeing what made it tick. For once in her life, Kaoru was impressed.

"You should know better than to expect any less from a Kanzuki," Karin boasted. As they went on she was busy slipping on another shirt to replace the one Kaoru tore. "It's here that houses the world's largest database. Back in the days this is how I tracked down Sakura no matter where she traveled and reach her for a battle... or any other fighter for that matter. The Kanzuki Database holds information on any person worth mentioning out there. Any Street Fighter, any King of Fighter, any battlefield, any business leader, and definitely any inch of this earth. It's all here."

Karin stopped as they reached a noticeable bigger computer than the rest placed all the way in the back of the room. It was so large it had three operative to monitor it. As Yui and Kaoru watched on, Karin walked behind the operator in the middle and tapped on his shoulder to get his attention.

"Yes, Ms. Kanzuki?" he replied.

"Geret, I need you to start a worldwide search on the famous fortune teller and trainer of special powers, Rose."

"Yes. Right away."

"Geret's my favorite main man," Karin informed the couple behind her. "Whenever he's on duty he's always on top of things There's not a task he cannot handle."

Kaoru just nodded in response, looking at the huge screen planted on the wall. On screen, the mouse pointer moved up to the icon "Global Search" then clicked on it, bringing up another window. Geret clicked on the entry bar and typed in "ROSE" and entered it in. A "Now Processing Request" message popped up and the four of them lay in wait. After a few seconds, a bell rand... and Geret made a surprised gasp.

"No status...?" he replied. "Impossible."

"Try it again..." Karin responded. Geret did so. Once again, the screen gave a message of no status on Rose. Karin put a hand on her chin to think about it...

"Try someone else to see if the database is down. Put in... Kyo Kusanagi."

"Certainly."

Geret replaced Rose's entry with the words "KYO KUSANAGI". After 2 seconds, a world map enlarged on screen, then focused on Japan. Japan then zoomed in and a red blinking dot flashed on where Shinjuku would be located.

"Search request complete," the computer responded in a female's voice. "Name: Kyo Kusanagi. Age: 29. Current Location: Shinjuku, Japan. Current Occupation: None. Fighting Style: the legendary art of Kusanagi ember martial arts along with own derivative of Chinese boxing. Likes: Ice hokey and writing poetry to his girlfriend, Yuki. Dislikes: Effort."

"Well, it is definitely on-line and working..." Geret mentioned, "but why is it that Rose is not coming up...?"

_I've got a bad feeling about this..._ Kaoru thought gloomily.

"Karin... does your computer have info on people who are deceased?"

Yui instantly double-taked, giving his wide a look of astonishment. "You can't be serious! Just what are you implying, Kaoru?"

Kaoru frowned. "We have to expect the worst. Think about it, Yui. I've lost contact with her in more ways than one. No matter how far apart we were, we could still talk mentally. If I can't reach her..."

Yui bit his lower lip a bit but later nodded. "You're right..."

The two of them then turned to Karin and the rich woman responded.

"Yes. Yes it does..."

"Ok, then. Let me see for myself. Search for... Gen..."

As the words came out, Kaoru felt her blood run hot. Those three letters brought up an individual she wish she never encountered before... One rainy night in Shinjuku, when she was still very young and wondering around after leaving a homeless shelter, she ran into the legendary assassin herself. At the time, she didn't realize it, but Gen was the one who talked to her... It was like the man could read into her very soul... As Gen's words began to get closer to Kaoru's deepest secrets, her young evil vigor started to consume her... and even though she tried to fight it, it took over and she attacked in a rage against him... only to be bested and almost done away with herself. It was his rare show of compassion for her that she was still alive... Back then, she despised him... but growing up, his old image still reappeared in her mind...

"Fine, then," Karin responded. "Geret, you heard her."

The operative nodded then started a new search for Gen. Kyo's status disappeared and then focused on China, then Hong Kong.

"Search request complete. Name: Gen. Age: Deceased at 87. Cause of death: incurable disease of the heart. Fighting style: the art of pure Ansatsuken, assassination style."

"Ok..." Karin said. "Put Rose back in."

Geret did what his employer asked... but once again no results showed.

"This never happened before..." Karin sighed. "The only way this could even possible occur is if she—"

Unfortunately, Karin could finish her statement. An unexpected screen shot on as the background flashed from white to orange. At the same time, Kaoru's senses flew off the scale...

_What the..? A huge jump of evil ki... It so much like mine, too... but a whole lot stronger... Just what in the world...?_

"Geret, tell me what's going on," Karin demanded.

Without a word, Geret typed in a few things... and the screen refocused on Japan, but this time it was Tokyo it was highlighting... right here they were all at...

"There has been a major accident on a main highway road in downtown Tokyo," the Kanzuki girl responded. "A bridge about 5 miles from the city of the city just got leveled... but I can't make out who in the world could be responsible for such a – WHOA! Ki levels are going through the roof! Just what IS that?"

Karin pulled out a cell phone faster than the eye could catch up with and hit a number. After a few rings, she got an answer on the other end.

"Miss?"

"Shibizaki, prepare my limo. We're going into the city, proto! All scenic routes!"

"Very well, then. I shall meet you at the way in 5."

Karin quickly hung up and turned to face Kaoru and Yui. "Sorry to cut this short, but I simply must investigate this disturbance. Do you want to come?"

Kaoru nodded. "Yes. Something this big I just can't ignore..."

"I'll give you a ride. Come on."

As Karin rushed past the two of them, Kaoru started to go along as well... only she stopped once she noticed Yui wasn't moving. On closer inspection, he seemed to be in pain...

"Yui!" she exclaimed, coming to his side. "What's wrong...?"

Yui only responded with low groans, holding one hand over his head...

_This feeling... This feeling of dread... It seems... so... ugh...! What's going on...? Why is this happening to me...?_

"Yui!"

Once he heard Kaoru's worried voice, Yui stood up fully, putting his hand to his side. Before Kaoru could speak, Yui cut her off.

"Let's go. Time is of the essence..."

**Tokyo, Japan: 7:50 A.M.**

"Did you feel that?" Sakura whispered to her husband. Darrell only nodded.

"Definitely. It's a little faint... but it's unmistakable. Something big is going on..."

"You think you know what it could be?"

"Iie... but whatever it is—"

"Mrs. Kasugano! Mr. Markis! Sorry for interrupting your little conversation, but I do believe I still have a request to deny here, so if you don't mind..."

Both spouses' hearts dropped from the sudden sternness from the head of Tamagawa Minami. As Sakura straightened out her posture, Darrell gave Chun-Li and Ace a look, as if to say, "I can see why she hates him."

The office they were all located in was overall a burgundy color, contrast to the school color of blue, white and yellow. It was rather spacious with shelves of literature to the right and shelves of papers to the left. Sunlight poured out of the huge windows in front of and to the right of the group and the headmaster's desk right in front. The man who sat there, an elder of about 60 or so and a little shorter than Chun-Li, sat intellectually in his chair, peering right at his teacher through his glasses. With a clearing of his throat he continued.

"You must think I'm some type of idiot, don't you, Mrs. Sakura Kasugano?" he injected. "It's bad enough that as you attended this school yourself that your grades slipped because of nonsense like this. Martial arts... Bah! Aren't you satisfied enough that you teach your students this junk in physical education? That you even go as far as to personally lay your hands on them? I'm surprised that Ms. Saya Hashimoto's parents haven't sued due to the beating you give her every week."

Sakura's face slightly grew distorted upon hearing the part about her student, Saya. "Mr. Kato, incase you haven't noticed, the students love to study the way of Street Fighting. It was these skills that saved these schools from Justice High—"

"A decade ago, Mrs. Kasugano," the headmaster cut off, his eyes narrowing. "A lot has changed since then. Raizo Imawano had things under wraps since then. You know why? Because he's strict about his rules & principles. He doesn't allow things like this to carry on. He puts his foot down, and that is what I'm doing right here. I'm stamping this request right now. You have to realize that you have a far more important purpose in life rather than going off into these tournaments, risking your good health on what? Just a title and recognition? It sure can't be money because your job covers for that! That's what it's all about, isn't it?"

Sakura sat back in her chair and swallowed hard. Just as she began to reply, Mr. Kato cut her off.

"Get this... These kids need more than this. They need their education more than anything in this world. Why do you think Japan is so strong in the world today? Why, I bet your husband came here to get ahead and not spend his life in the gutter like most people of his ethnicity—"

On instinct Darrell snapped.

"I resent that! I came here purely on meeting Sakura and to get to know her! Also, not all African are as _you _say. Do you know how successful people like me have gotten in life? I'm not the first, you know..."

Mr. Kato's focus darted over to him, his eyes still sharp as nails. "As opposed to those who don't go anywhere? No, I don't. If that's the case, then why are most foreigners that migrate to the States have better economical records than people 'like you'?"

_Arrogant bastard... _Darrell thought, feeling his body tense up.

"Also, didn't you come here to learn this country's history? It's this country's great accomplishments that drew you here, correct?"

"Look, I do admit I was obsessed with the Japanese, but don't you—"

"Thank you for serving my point. See where your husband is at? I doubt he would have even got half as decent of a job in the United States. He came here, knowing he was a smaller minority here than over there, and succeeded, all because of the skills and opportunities that he got from here. Its our curriculum that fuels our students for the future, but to get the message past, we need 'positive' role models to teach that. This is why I'm not permitting you to leave. These kids already look up to you for the wrong reasons, but to desert them for it? What type of future are you planning for them? Are you even thinking about your consequences for your actions?"

Sakura's eyes softened. How this man could throw all this out just over a simple request to take a leave of absence from her duties was beyond her, but what he was saying has hitting too many sensitive nerves. It was time to try her hand.

"Well, Mr. Kant," she began, her voice as calm as she could possibly put it, "let me tell you that if it weren't for my fists I wouldn't be the type of person I am now... and these kids wouldn't have anything to look forward to in life besides going to college, getting a job, and paying their bills until they can't work anymore due to old age. I don't just teach them how to fight, mister. I teach them the right reasons why they should fight. You don't see any of my students going off and using their talents to pick on anyone else, do you?"

For the first time in the conversation, the headmaster took a pause before answering.

"No, I can't recall..."

"Street Fighting should be an enjoyable experience. It severs as a nice exercise and better thinking on your feet. Plus, its fun! You won't believe how many friends my students made with the other schools around the tri cit area. It's not because we force them to, but that they share a common interest and a pure fighting spirit. This is how Taiyo High got so popular. Their focus wasn't only on studies, but they made sure their students got out in the field and exercised their bodies in an interesting variety of ways. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not neglecting any principles you enforce here at Tamagawa. You know me better than that. All I'm saying is that I'm teaching these kids that life isn't in a book, but in the here and now, and you might as well enjoy it while you got the strength to press on."

Mr. Kato leaned forward a bit, his elbows on his desk and his eyes planted on the teacher in front of him. His hands grew folded under his chin as he thought over Sakura's words. For a while there was quiet all around the room until he broke it.

"I see..." he said, "but that doesn't explain why you are requesting this in the first place."

At this moment, the Chinese Interpol officer raised her right hand to call on his attention then answered, "I believe this is where I come in." She reached into her brown pants and pulled out her Interpol badge. "Officer Chun-Li Xiang; Interpol Criminal Investigations Ward."

Mr. Kato's grayed eyebrows arched. "Is that so...?" His eyes then shot right back to Sakura, but she just gave him a calm look in response. He then looked back at the Chinese woman as she continued.

"I didn't mean to cause any serious complications when I came here," she said while putting her badge away, "but I require Sakura's help. Worldwide there is an epidemic taking place with the rebirth of a dangerous crime syndicate and with her strength it would serve a great deal of help is she became a temporary detective for Interpol."

"Oh, I think I get it now. SO this isn't a personal vacation at all..."

Sakura shook her head. "No way. It had to be something huge to get me away from my students. I'd much rather stay with them, but I also need to protect them, so I must do this. I hope you understand the situation now..."

Sakura started to smile as Me. Kato nodded in confirmation.

"There's no point in teaching them for their future if they don't have one," she continued. "Chun-Li here should know that just as well as I do. She started an orphanage while still serving at Interpol, right?"

Chun-Li and Ace both nodded in unison.

"We think about our youth and the children that we take care of. If that's not a reason to fight, then I don't know what is."

"Ok, I'll abide," the head responded. "You got your absence. I'll make sure to deliver the message to the rest of your students as well. As long as you return..."

"Now come on... Do I look like I'm going to run away and not come back? I love this school too much."

With that Sakura got up from her seat and winked at her superior. The rest of the group followed suit and exited the office. Within no time they were in the hallway which was clear of students for the time being... since everyone was still outside, waiting for the school door to open in about 10 minutes or so. Sakura looked out the windows as she viewed the green grass of the courtyard and the many students in their uniforms talking and joking with one another.

"Just like the good old days," she said loudly. Darrell, who was right beside her, looked over to look for himself and smiled.

"Yep. Makes me wish I was still back in the old blue uniform..."

"..and me in my sailor fuku once again..."

"You two sound like you're in your 70's," Chun-Li joked, smiling at the two of them. Ace was busy looking at the pictures of past year valedictorians on the wall closest to him.

"It's just that 8 years being a graduate is quite a long time," Sakura replied. "It makes you miss how good things were when you were sitting in class and just listening and taking tests and stuff."

"That's for sure," Darrell added as the four of them turned to the right down to the steps and to the front doors. "You try doing that in Metrosphere. That's your head... for someone other than me, of course."

Ace was first out into the courtyard, followed by Chun-Li, then Sakura, and finally Darrell. The moment his foot came down into the pavement, all four of them froze. Their eyes didn't even have time to focus on the students right in front of them...

"There it goes again!" Darrell called. "It's even stronger than before... and its close!"

Chun-Li felt it, too; probably more so than anyone else in the group. She scanned the rooftops... and spotted a lone figure standing on one just to the right of the front gate. He was way too far to make out his appearance, but that all changed quickly. The figure jumped down from the 4 story building and landed right at the Tamagawa gates, and behind the crowd of students.

"What the heck...?" Sakura gasped. She felt this... She felt this way too many times in her life to mistake it for anything. It was definitely Satsu no Hadou... but this time it was much stronger... Stronger than anything she could remember. "Who... was...--?"

She quickly found the answer to the question she never finished asking. In a blink of an eye, the individual reappeared, warping right through the crowd before stopping a few feet away from the front doors where the group stood. Students left and right gasped in horror at the man. Darrell and Sakura in particular felt their hearts jump into their throats. The appearance was unmistakable...

"No..." Darrell muttered... then shouted it out. "NO!"

Black sandals...

"I... It... It's impossible!" Sakura's voice yelled in utter shock. "It's just impossible!"

Dark black karate gi...

"We killed you!" Darrell shot out. "We friggin killed you! We watched you die!"

Dark skin complexion... Solid red eyes...

"I've heard about him..." Chun-Li whispered, "but I'd never thought... that I'd see him... This... energy... is overwhelming..."

Red hair that was tied down by a rubber band and standing on end, flaming in the air like a barn fire... It all equaled up to one thing...

"It has been 10 years... 10 long, wretched years... but finally... it is time..."

Suddenly, he seemed to split into two... and disappeared completely. Before anyone could react, a slice of the air... and a huge gust of wind made Sakura, Darrell and Chun-Li take cover while jumping away from it. Screams of panic ran through their eardrums, but an even louder scream of pain jerked Chun-Li's. As the wind died down, the three of them looked to where it came from... and gasped in horror to find Ace on his back, a huge jagged scar running across his chest and his eyes wide in shock. In front of him was the man in black, his hand down in a chop, a blood red aura surrounding his body.

"And this time..."

Finally, Akuma's head snapped at Darrell, Sakura, and Chun-Li, his expression as cold as death.

"...the Misougi WILL HURT..."


	7. The Master of Fists Returns

_**CHAPTER 7: THE MASTER OF FISTS RETURNS**_

**Tokyo, Japan: 7:49 A.M.**

"...so, yeah. I called Joe last night."

"What did he say? Come on and spill it!"

"Well, he told me that he was just relaxing but that's not what I wanted to talk about."

"Please tell me he..."

"Uh-huh."

"Ah! That's wonderful! Don't you think so, Saya? Saya...? Hello! Earth to Saya! Come in, please!"

Saya blinked. "Gomen na sai. What was that, again?"

"Wow, that's the fourth time, Saya. You sure you're ok? Maybe you should take a break from fighting Mrs. Kasugano, eh?"

"No, no. I'm fine. I'm just... thinking. Don't worry about me, Nasi."

Saya flashed a feeble smile to her friend, a short, green-haired girl with big, emerald eyes. To her right was another girl, this one a bit taller than herself and sporting long black hair along with a headband. This one went by the name of Hazel and she was the one who snapped her out of her daze to begin with. She just gave Saya a questioning look as the three of them started to cross an intersection, obviously on their way to school.

"Ok, whatever you say..." Nasi said, then grew a smile. "Anyways, Joe asked me out on a date this Saturday! Can you believe it?"

"Yeah, that's pretty awesome," Saya replied, trying to get into the conversation herself. "Where are you two going?"

"He said the movies then a romantic dinner near the West Riverbank. Who knows...? Maybe I'll finally get my first kiss."

"Ah... Still in search of that first kiss, huh, Nasi?" Hazel asked. "I already had mine last year. I tell you, no kiss is like the first, right, Saya?"

That question made the blond blush. Instantly she looked away from Hazel and to the ground, trying not to make eye contact, holding her book bag straps tightly. Hazel blinked a few times then gasped.

"No... way!" she exclaimed. "Don't tell me you didn't have your first kiss yet!"

"Well... um..." Saya weakly replied, wishing that the subject never came her way, "I... I never even had a boyfriend..."

Hazel and Nasi stopped on a dime and looked at Saya, who continued to look at the ground as she started to get onto Tamagawa property. They then exchanged shocked glances for a second then ran up to catch up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Saya," Nasi said while grabbing her friend by the shoulders and pulling her to the side. "Are you serious? You NEVER had a boyfriend before?"

Saya just shook her head, her eyes heavy in sadness.

"Aww... Saya...! You don't know what you're missing? There's nothing better that to have someone to be around who you can... um... fool around with. Don't you like boys?"

Saya twisted her mouth while giving her friend a look. As much as she knew what a typical teenage schoolgirl would answer with, she reminded herself of one little detail: she wasn't typical.

"Come on," Hazel followed while bringing up the read, "I know there has to be someone in our class that you at least daydream about."

After a while Saya merely shook her head once again.

"Wow, Saya..." Nasi trailed off. "I think what you need to do is to get out of the role of being Mrs. Kasugano's prodigy and start acting like a normal schoolgirl for a change. I know a dosen or so cute boys that you would like."

"No... I couldn't..."

"Saya, listen to me. No disrespect to our teacher, but think about it. You're a girl. You let yourself get caught up in fighting like this all the time and you're going to miss out on a lot of cool stuff in life. As far as I know, you only live once. I could be wrong about that, but my point is that aside from bashing people's heads in, you need to get in touch with your feminine side. Learn to live a little. Go out and enjoy yourself and explore new things... and most of all, _be social!_ I swear. At times you're so introverted, and you completely ignore all the looks you get from even the upperclassmen! I'd kill to be in your shoes, Saya, you see? You have so many opportunities! You understand?"

_(I wish it was so easy as to shed my armor, Nasi...) _Saya thought, _(but you don't know the truth. You don't know the real me. The truth is that I work for Shadowloo. I live a life of crime. I didn't ask for this. It was brought upon my brothers and me and I had nowhere else to go. I wish I could get away and tell you so I could get help, but I can't. I can't let anyone know who I really am...)_

"Yes, I'm listening."

"Alright. At lunch I'll get you started. You're got a lot to learn, Saya, but for now, let's get to school."

Saya closed her eyes and nodded. "Ok. I guess I don't have much of a choice about it..."

Hazel put a warm hand on Saya's back as the three friends started to approach the front courtyard where the students were to be at prior to the opening of school. "Cheer up! Stop being so gloomy. That's lesson number one. You should show the same enthusiasm during this that you do whenever you fight our teacher. Besides, I'm sure Nasi will hook you up with the best boyfriend for y—"

Hazel's speech was interrupted the moment the three girls reached the front gate. A sudden gust of wind swept through, making the three of them hide behind the brick wall to their right. At almost the same time, Saya's senses picked up an enormous level of dark ki right over yonder. She never felt anything like it before, and she quickly found her heart pounding out of the moment.

"What in the world was that?" Nasi asked, totally bewildered. A millisecond later, screams of horror claimed the skies and almost riot-like, the student of Tamagawa spewed from the courtyard from the courtyard and to the streets, almost as if the building exploded and were running for their lives.

"Come on!" Nasi yelled. "We've got to see what's going on!"

"Hey, are you nuts?" Hazel shrieked. "Something like this is bound to be-"

"Nasi's right," Saya yelled over the crowd's noise. "We've got to see what's wrong. I don't have a good feeling about this, either, but it's our school! Come on!"

Hazel was startled to see Saya's hand grab her hand and, along with Nasi, fought her way through the crazed wave of students running from their destination. As they once again reached the gate they noticed some of the other students not running, but watching from the gate in total shock. Saya managed to get the first glimpse of the courtyard... and gasped.

"Hey, isn't that... that the guy Mrs. Kasugano beat at the tournament 4 years ago?" a boy asked.

"Iie..." another boy, this one a class above the previous, declined. "He's shorter... and he's different looking..."

_(Who in the world is that?) _Saya asked. The person was on the school steps, wearing a black karate gi but with a rope in place of the typical black belt. He had dark skin and his hair was practically on fire. The bigger shock was that to her left Saya could see her physical education teacher along with her husband, along with a woman of Chinese decent wearing a formal dress. Before she could do anything in response to all this, something beeped off in her skirt...

_(No... Not now...!)_

"I... I'll be right back!" Saya yelled, startling her two friends. By the time they turned to rind her, she was out of eyesight...

At the other side of the street, Saya ducked behind a parked car and reached into her blue skirt pocket, pulling out a black communicator. She looked behind her to see if anyone was watching or around, then brought it to her mouth.

"Saya here. What's the problem...?"

"_(cough) _Saya... It's... its Kai..."

Saya's eyes flew open. "Kai! What's the matter with you?"

"Listen... Y... you've got to get away from... from Tamagawa... Get away from it as fast as you can... The package... It's... loose... and heading that way... Black martial arts gi... red hair... Insanely powerful... Whatever you do... Don't get in his way..."

"Kai, you're hurt. I can tell. Where are you? I'm coming there now!"

"...I'm on... AI-302... it's a good 5 miles from there..."

"I'm coming. You guys just hold on. Where's Vexx?"

"Don't worry... about him. He's fine... Just get moving..."

"Alright. Over and out."

Saya ended the conversation and quickly grabbed her bag before running to her right and out of sight in an alleyway.

**Meanwhile...**

_(It can't be! It just can't! We did away with Akuma years ago! How is he still alive!)_

That question ran through Darrell's mind again and again, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get an answer. The worst thing was, why now? Why when they had a huge Shadowloo problem to deal with did they had to deal with an enemy like this? The shock was overwhelmed, and no words could explain what he could respond with. He could feel his heart pound and his pulse quicken. His breathing accelerated as well. All because he knew what happened years ago as he literally saw his life flash before his eyes. It was then he met a feeling he thought he'd never feel again.

He felt fear.

"A... Ace...!" Chun-Li whispered. She wanted to yell it out but she couldn't get it out. Her vocal chords wouldn't let her. The attack came so swiftly her eyes only caught a blur. She barely noticed the fact that thankfully, Ace wasn't bleeding.

"And by the way..." Akuma muttered, "That was only 20 percent of my power..."

As soon as the words hit their ears the three world warriors gasped in utter disbelief.

_(Only 20 percent?) _Sakura screamed in her head. _(That's insane! When he did that move on Darrell and me, he practically used all his strength and it didn't' do nearly as much damage as that!)_

"You two... seemed shocked to see me again..."

"Well, duh!" Sakura unintentionally blurted out. "It's always a surprise to see someone who was killed a decade ago come back and meet you like this!"

Despite Sakura's response, Akuma kept is original, emotionless expression.

"W... what do you want...?" Darrell asked, trying his best to keep calm.

Akuma stayed mute for a while but eventually graced the group with an answer.

"I see that you two have... made some... improvement from the last time we met... Mildly amusing... but compared to my progress it pales in comparison horribly..."

_(How the hell did he get so strong?) _Darrell's mind ran. _(He's been dead for 10 years! TEN! How did he get stronger? It just doesn't make any sense!)_

"The last time we met, it was truly a death match... I will admit that much... However, it seems as if fate has served me a new life... and with that, new abilities... The reason I'm here is for a simple matter... of compare and contrast..."

"In other words..." Darrell started, "you want—"

'Yes. I want to challenge the two kids who managed to defeat me a decade ago... with the same magnitude of which our last battle showcased... No. I stand corrected. An even _bigger _magnitude... and as you have seen... the matter of life and death rests on your fists."

On instinct Sakura protested.

"No!" she strongly answered, holding up a hand towards the demon. "I won't go down that path again! Not even you can make me, Akuma! I don't care what you do... but I won't fight you again!"

"Hmph... Pathetic... Weak dogs always bark the loudest... but this is preposterous. Just look at you. I can sense the fear in your eyes and soul already... and to think that YOU, of all people, was dubbed the strongest woman in the world... Utterly pathetic."

"Watch it..." Darrell backed up, his fists clenching at his sides. The fear he experienced still rode inside him, but the need to protect his wife overrode it. "You might have been brought back to life but we can put you back into the dirt—"

"Oh, can you?... or are you just saying that to raise your own confidence? Don't be a fool and start kidding yourself. I could slaughter you and this whole city in one strike if I so desired. Even that little display that I just showed you brought to light your true emotions... but if you seriously think you can do the impossible, then come at me."

As much as he wanted to, Darrell couldn't move from his position. Akuma's intimidation factor was much higher than ten years ago. Once Akuma was convinced that he wasn't moving, he continued.

"You see what happens when you forsake the darkness within your heart and soul? You grow weak. You don't have what it takes to be true warriors... at least... not without Satsu no Hadou powering your every move..."

"That's not true," Sakura answered back. "We don't need our other sides to beat the likes of you."

"Then why don't you show me, woman?" Akuma demanded, his eyes seemingly growing even more intense as his voice raised. "You're wasting your life..."

Sakura clenched her right fist to her side, her face growing in distaste. Was there another way...?

"You know? For once I agree with you..."

The blossom gasped, looking cluelessly at Darrell. His eyes no longer showed any fear, but now determination... and understanding...

"What are you saying?"

"Think about what he said for a second... He's totally right."

Sakura was in shock. She couldn't believe what she was hearing from her husband. "You can't be serious...!"

"Oh, but I am... We _are _wasting our lives just talking. Being a Street Fighter means a lot more than words. You should know that more than anything, Sakura."

He then took a few steps towards Akuma so that they were a few feet away from one another. With a slight pause, Darrell unbuttoned the buttons to his sleeves and rolled them back to his elbows.

"To talk to a person of Akuma's caliber..." he finished, "...you have to bone up and let your fist speak for you."

A slight smirk appeared on Akuma's face, but it quickly disappeared as he positioned himself into his stance. Behind Darrell, Sakura felt her pulse quicken as she took his words to heart. Flicking at her hair as she came to a decision, she threw her worries aside and took a step forward... then found herself side by side with her life partner, staring down the Master of Fists. She could feel his energy all the way from here. He was definitely in his best form. She then looked at Darrell, who nodded at her while looking at her through the corner of his eyes. Sakura then returned the nod and faced her next opponent, ready to go...

However, she wasn't alone, as Chun-Li found her way to Sakura's right, donning her own kung-fu fighting stance. Sakura blinked as she looked at the taller woman...

"Chun-Li?"

"This is for Ace..."

"...is he...?"

"No, he's not. Just knocked out, but I can't let this man get away with what he has done."

"...ok... Together, then."

"Enough of this stalling," Akuma announced. "It's time for this duel to start..."

"I agree," Sakura shot back boldly. "Come on!"

"Nnnn!"

The demon fighter started the battle, quickly launching his body up into a somersault flip towards the group. The three stood their ground, not sure who Akuma's focus was on. At the peak of his jump, Akuma stopped and came down sharply, his foot outstretched and aiming towards Darrell. The dark-skinned fighter on instinct doubled back and the other two moved out of the way as Akuma landed. Darrell blocked a few blows from his old adversary then a quick Tatsumaki Zanku Kyaku. As Akuma landed Darrell hoped to return with a punch to the side but Akuma countered with a low kick to the knees, then another Tatsumaki Zanku Kyaku, popping him into the air for the following Gou-Shouryuken uppercut.

_(Man... I remember that trick...) _Darrell thought as he air recovered and landed, managing to catch Sakura try her hand at him. From the side she threw a mid-level punch that Akuma dashed to the side to avoid. As he moves, Sakura quickly brought her hands to her side, forming a ki ball, and with a shout of the name of the attack, threw a Hadouken at him. It was quick and a moderate size, yet not quick enough as Akuma merely parried it. Just as the thought of returning to a defensive posture entered her mind, she was shocked to instantly see the demon in her face, giving a strong uppercut to her chin, then as she reeled, threw his own strong blast of Hadou energy in his Gou-Hadouken. The force was so powerful at point blank range that it knocked the World Warrior champ on her back, but it wasn't long before she rolled backwards to her feet... and barely blocked a hard fist to the head. Luckily she broke her guard, a technique known to Rival Schoolers as the Tardy Counter, and spun around, managing to catch Akuma off guard with a hard back kick to the stomach.

The Master of Fists doubled back from the attack but he didn't' get far. The Interpol agent flipped through the air and slammed her leg down along Akuma's backside for her Seieishuu. Akuma didn't telegraph it, fell forward, right into Sakura's hard-hitting Shouoken, and hit the skies. However, the moment Akuma hit the air he air recovered and threw a solid fist to the side of the blossom's head. Sakura, who was still recovering from her attack, found herself grounded from the sudden blow, a bit dazed. Akuma didn't take advantage, however, for his focus found its way to the Chinese woman behind him.

Chun-Li used her instincts to back away a bit to think of her next move. As Akuma turned to face her, however, he was disrupted by Darrell shouting as he flew forward with a strong flaming kick, his Hiya. Akuma blocked the attack in addition to the follow up kick with the other leg, but that gave Darrell the room to recover safely. He looked up to see Akuma move up to the air and took the initiative, quickly whipping his right arm across his body to generate a flame on his fingertips.

"Youkoroken!" he called as he pitched the fire blast upwards to intercept Akuma, but one parry nullified it and left him open to a hard kick to the head, following with a quick jab to another hard uppercut. Before Akuma could add on to it, Chun-Li once again interfered, grabbing Akuma from behind and threw him to the ground with her arm. As Darrell captured his senses and tried another follow up, Chun-Li blocked his path, keeping her eyes on Akuma as he swiftly got to his feet.

"Huh?"

"Let me take this from here," the agent replied strongly. "I'll make this quick."

"Sure..."

Sakura just looked on as she watched Chun-Li rush in to try her hand solo while she herself made her way next to Darrell.

"Is it just me... or does he REALLY have it out for the two of us?" she asked. Darrell merely shrugged while rubbing the back of his hand against his cheek. Meanwhile, the Interpol officer and the Master of Fists squared off in the middle of the Tamagawa courtyard. Chun-Li kept on Akuma, making sure he didn't get any breathing room as she attacked with a flurry of kicks. As a high one was blocked Akuma backed off and Chun-Li responded by bringing her hands to her center and then arched her body back...

"Kikouken!" she cried out as she shot a palm forward, unleashing her own blue energy attack. As predicted, Akuma parried, but not predicted was him seemingly warping in the blink of an eyes towards Chun-Li as she tried to return to her neutral stance. She gasped in surprise as Akuma grabbed her dress and rolled back, grunting as he used his leg to throw her over him and to the ground. The moment Chun-Li's back hit the ground Akuma entered a stance, a blood red evil aura covering him and multiple images of him warped towards Chun-Li, who just got to her feet. On instinct she blocked, but was shocked again to find out that Akuma went THROUGH her to her backside...

"MESSATSU..."

...and shouted out in pain as Akuma planted his fist into her backside, igniting her clothes with purple flames. As Akuma moved forward he hit with one more Gou-Shoryuken before ending with the last, the one so powerful it stunned Chun-Li as the first hit plowed its way to her spine, then the second to the back of her neck, then finally the last hit to the head, making her fly and collapse on the dirt face first...

"Whoa..." Sakura whispered in astonishment. "That... was... fast..."

"Come on!" Darrell responded. "We're helping her out, now!"

Without another word Darrell dashed in as Akuma landed from his Messatsu Gou-Shoryu super art. Before Akuma could realize it, Darrell stepped right where Chun-Li lay at, channeled his ki while reaching to his side, then lashed out with a wide spread of flames to make up his Shakunetsu Ittou. Akuma's recovery time was good, but not perfect. He ate the attack on his side, falling shoulder first into a bench right next to him. As Akuma started to stir the flame wielder jumped over Chun-Li's downed body and prepared to come down himself, however, as he landed where Akuma occupied, his body practically disappeared... leaving him landing on the bench himself, missing a follow-up attack.

"What the?"

"Nnn!"

"YAH!"

A strong fist plowed into Darrell's backside with the force of a speeding car. Within a half second his body collapsed on the grass behind the bench, rolling a few feet before stopping. Darrell commanded his body to roll away from Akuma but halfway through it hesitated, leaving him on his back and looking straight at Akuma, who wasted no time at all to take advantage this time.

Even though he was in a bad position, Darrell had no choice but to put his hands up to try to block. Luckily it worked against Akuma's overhead hand hop. Before Akuma could plant on a heel to the downed fighter, Darrell managed to lift his legs and block this attack as well with his feet. The Master of Fists let out a surprised grunt as Darrell smirked at him, then planted his hands in position near his head and pushed Akuma off balance while flipping into a standing position. The flamethrower then dashed in, his right arm bursting into flame.

"Shakunetsuken!"

A solid fist managed to land on Akuma's head...

"Hah!"

...followed by a backhand strike with the same fist...

"Tyah!"

...then a cross with the left...

"Kashou! (Burn!)"

...and finally ended with a strong backhand strike, sending Akuma falling back to the ground. As Darrell started to dash again to follow up his Shakunetsuken, Akuma touched off the ground and went airborne, throwing off a Zanku Hadouken to keep Darrell at bay. The younger fighter easily avoided getting hit by stopping on a dime and letting the Hadouken fall to the ground, leaving a small crater as it exploded, but it distracted him from noticing Akuma's presence behind him...

"AAAH!" Darrell yelped again as a heel slammed into the back of his head, making him stumble forward while holding it in pain. Akuma didn't let him get away. Almost in a blink of an eye he tele-dashed to his opponent's backside and kick at his legs. Darrell was sent to the ground on his knees, unable to keep up at all...

"Shinidoki! (Time to die!)" Akuma roared, bracing his fist to the final strike...

"Hey, ugly!"

"What?" Akuma responded, turning his head to his side and in the direction of the voice. There, a few meters away, stood Sakura, already in Hadouken stance, her hands quickly forming a pink surge ball which aura seemed to surround her entire body... It was clear in her eyes who her focus was on...

"NEKKETSU HADOUKEN!"

On cue the blossom fired her attack, the ki taking form into a massive blast of surge energy. Akuma's eyes grew in size as it rocketed towards him...

_(That move...!)_

Little did he notice Darrell pulling himself off the ground and out of harms way, turning around just as his wife's Hadouken hit home. The Nekketsu Hadouken clearly blew past where Akuma stood, not stopping until it exploded with authority against the far wall of the Tamagawa gate.

_(Yes!) _Sakura cheered inside her mind. _(Got him! Direct hit!)_

From his viewpoint, Darrell just looked on at the attack as it started to dissipate.

_(I know you're still here, Akuma... I can still sense you. You're not running this time... Where are you...?)_

Little to Darrell's surprise, but much to Sakura's, once the Hadouken fully vanished, there was no sign of the Master of Fists anywhere near the wall. Sakura frowned while bracing herself once again.

_(Damn!) _she cursed. _(Where'd he go?)_

Quiet claimed the area due to the break of action, but this only served to get the duo's senses more riled up. Despite that, the two knew that they needed to remain focused. Any false moves and it could be their last. After a few more moments, Darrell slowly stepped backwards, his eyes ever changing direction to keep a look out for any attacks. Sakura saw her partner move towards her and followed suit, turning around to look the other way. As their backs pressed against one another Darrell spoke.

"You know... He could be anywhere..."

"I know that just as well as you do. What I'm stumped on... is how he got so fast if he was dead for a decade..."

"I... honestly don't know... It doesn't add up at all. However, let's keep our eyes sharp. He's just waiting on us to let our guard down..."

"Yeah... Sure..."

Sakura's eyes then went back to where Chun-Li lay and sighed in relief to see the Interpol officer raise her head and sit up, holding the back of her head.

"Are you ok, Chun-Li?" she asked.

A little bewildered, Chun-Li looked at the blossom and nodded.

"I... I'll be fine..."

Her eyes then looked up above their heads... and her face grew pale in shock...

"You two!" she screamed, "Move! NOW!"

"Uh?" both young fighters gasped as their attention shot up to the skies... and barely caught a glimpse of a hailstorm of massive Zankuu Hadoukens raining down from out of nowhere. On instinct the two dodged to the right to get out of the target range of the first one, then doubled back for the next. By this time the area was under heavy assault, each Hadouken that came near them getting closer and closer to actually hitting. Sakura, just rolling under another that almost caught her in the head, heaved, "Just where... is he throwing these from...?"

"I—AH! – I wish I knew that myself!" Darrell shouted back, having to parry one before it reached him. In the midst of all the commotion, Sakura and Darrell had to break away from one another to not bump into one another by accident, but as they kept moving, not able to pick off Akuma's location, they started to draw closer to one another. As two more Hadoukens approached, practically coming from two opposite directions, the two both jumped backwards, letting the projectiles to leave more craters into the ground.

"Hah... haha... I... I think that was the last of them," Darrell panted, "But just where—"

"LOOK OUT!" Sakura screamed, instantly startling her husband who stood behind her. Not only that, but both their sense picked up a massive ki signal rocketing towards them. The two looked up and grew wide eyes by the sight of a Gou Hadouken 5 times bigger than the last, careening its way directly towards them. Not able to dodge it, the two did the next best thing: block.

The Zanku Hadouken crashed into the two at once, the force tearing at their defensive arms. The two groaned as they struggled to hold it off until it exploded... but as the heat started to build on them, that quickly turned into yells of desperation...

_(It... it's too strong...!) _Sakura realized. _(We're... not going to make it...!)_

_(Come on, dammit! Come on...!) _Darrell's mind shouted. _(Wear out already... AH!)_

As Lady Luck had it, the Hadouken finally lost power and dissipated and not a moment too soon; another few seconds and it would have surely broke through their guard. Heaving relieved sighs, they both dropped their arms and tried to recuperate, but yet another strong shot of ki canceled that action quick.

"Oseru!" came Akuma's voice as he dropped from above, arm above his head and his Satsu aura standing strong around him. Darrell and Sakura barely had the chance to jump away for less than a half second later Akuma landed with his Misougi, this one much more powerful than before. His impact on the ground caused his energy to shoot out like a colliding comet accompanied by a blast of wind, which unfortunately hit the two fighters before they could even touch the ground. The Misougi's after affects blasted their bodies away like debris from a car accident. After a short while tumbling, the couple finally stopped on the walkway of the courtyard, winded...

Breathing started to become a daunting task for Sakura. Her body began to ache from Akuma's attacks since now that she was down, the adrenaline she ran on lowered. After spending a few seconds to get just the bare minimum of her strength, the blossom slowly planted her hands into the ground and brought a knee in to support herself. She paused here, closing her eyes while willing her body to try to fully get up, but Darrell's voice made her stop.

"H... he's... coming..."

Sakura lifted her head... and the sight to her eyes made her heart start to pound. Akuma slowly took his time approaching them, the blood red aura of Satsu surrounding him in a wild blaze. His red eyes showed no remorse or mercy... It was enough to convince Sakura of one fact clear as day...

_(He's really... out to kill us...)_

Each step the Master took towards the spent duo, the more Sakura's heart thumped. Its beat became louder and louder and her pulse quickened... As he finally stopped just outside of the pathway, Sakura felt a majority of feelings she hadn't felt in over 4 years...

Bewilderment...

Helplessness... and most of all...

Fear...

"When we first began... I told you that you held your survival in your fists... but it seems... as if your fists failed you..."

Akuma then spared them a speech, but instead stomped on the ground, entering the horse stance he used all so often before... The moment his ki skyrocketed, Sakura's eyes twitched... This signal brought back bad memories...

"MESSATSU...!"

"SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Before Akuma could even fully charge the killing blow known as the Messatsu Gou Hadou, a steak of light rocketed along the ground of the courtyard and struck the demon on the side. Akuma gargled out a weird sound as he flew, crashing into the wall of the school. Meanwhile, the comet stopped on impact, swindling from the tail up, quickly showing someone inside. This individual sported denim jeans and jacket, open to expose the white t-shirt inside. His black hair was short and wild and his face wore a really intense tone to accompany the scar on the left of his forehead. Any other time Darrell wouldn't necessarily by ecstatic to see this person... but today he couldn't be more relieved.

Batsu Ichimonji just saved their asses.

"B... Batsu..." Sakura sighed in a mixture of shock and relief, eyeing him from her kneeling position. Batsu just kept his focus on Akuma, who had touched down on one knee and looked up to trade glances.

"It's a good thing that I ran here the moment I caught that first sign of energy," the Taiyo High graduate responded. "Any second later and I would've had been too late to matter much..."

"Yeah... You're a lifesaver for sure," Darrell admitted, standing up while holding his side with the opposite arm. "I owe you big for this..."

"Save it, Darrell. Right now, my focus is on this ugly looking guy right here..."

"...If I didn't know any better... I'd say you're going to take your shot at him as well..."

Batsu simply nodded.

"If you want, you can rest this out," he said, "but if you think you can still do something... then by all means..."

Darrell stared at his rival for a while, catching his breath. Sakura, in turn, stood up fully.

"I might be tired," she said, her voice building up confidence once again, "but I'm not going to let you fight Akuma by yourself. I'm not going to let you get killed."

"Akuma, is it...?" Batsu then looked at Darrell. "What about you? Surely you're going to..."

"Just buy me time..." Darrell interrupted. The two looked at him for a while, a bit thrown off... but then nodded in acceptance.

"You better find the vigor for that really fast. Even though I'm at full strength this guy's a powerhouse. I don't know how long Sakura and I can hold him off."

Darrell just lowered his head so that he could look at Batsu from the top of his eyes. It was then that Batsu began to see the flames burning in his pupils...

"Just... a few minutes, Batsu..." he reassured. "That's all I'm going to need..."

The meeting unfortunately, was interrupted by Akuma, who launched off the ground and in a leap towards the three. Batsu, Sakura, and Darrell all braced themselves, waiting for the attack...

"YAAAAAAH!"

A shout from their side caught the youngsters attention as in a blue Chun-Li dashed by them all and intercepted the demon with a blaze of lightning fast kicks to all points of the body with just one leg. Akuma barely had time to pick her up on his sights and ate every single last one. Chun-Li shouted as she then switched her position and let out another flurry with the right leg before sending Akuma back to sender with the last kick to the chin, completing her Hoyokusen super art.

Without looking back, the Interpol officer raced off, not letting her sights off her opponent. Batsu then gave his rival a final look and a hard glare at once.

"You want time? You got it! Just hurry it up!"

Darrell nodded and with the signal Batsu and Sakura ran off to join Chun-Li. As he watched his companions, Darrell closed his eyes and calmed his breathing. For a few seconds he just stood there, trying to push out the threat in front of him named Akuma and focused on his ki. As he did, the muscles around his body slowly began to ache in protest as they tensed up...

_(I know... I know my energy is low, but please... I need this... Now's the time for the big guns...)_

As he did this, the battle against the master of fists continued. Akuma kept up his defenses as Chun-Li threw quick hand strikes. After a swift hand stab, the officer then brought both her hands close and pitched them forward while leaning in. Akuma merely swatted the arm away while moving to her left. However, he couldn't strike. Chun-Li managed to stuff him with a backwards fist, his head jolting up from the quickness. As Chun-Li backed away Akuma kept his position. She might've been out of range but she wasn't the only opponent he had to worry about.

"Shooting Star Kick!"

The demon warped away just in time to avoid Batsu's streaking kick from above. The moment he touched down he tracked down his position, Batsu ran in that direction...

_(No escape, you!­)_

Batsu reared back and threw his elbow right into Akuma's... blocking arms. However, this didn't stop him from turning around and throwing a kick, once again blocked... Just when Batsu did this his leg went up and into the air, almost like a Ken Masters maneuver, and came down for an overhead attack. Batsu just kept chaining his moves with little breaks in-between, and Akuma stayed on guard...

_(Doesn't this fool know it's useless to attack me...?)_

"Hah!" the Taiyo graduate shouted, rising with a flaming uppercut of his own. Fatal mistake. Akuma broke his guard, ready to punish the cooldown of the Guts Upper. His knee hit... but not Batsu, on closer inspection. Akuma grew aware that Batsu maneuvered his body out of the way... and into Sakura's...

_(What?) _Akuma thought. _(A counter stance?)_

With a smirk the blossom took Akuma's full leg and spun him in place. Just before Akuma could even make two relations from Sakura's Jareru Arashi, she reared back a fist and plowed it into his face... then chained, a sudden build in ki from her body...

"Here it comes!" she yelled as she spun and threw a hand back kick to the chin, sending Akuma starboard. Sakura wasn't finished; she jumped up and followed up with an upwards Yaezakura... one after another. After 14 kicks, Sakura then spun once more, almost flipping while shooting off the last kick before she smashed him back to earth with a sledgehammer blow.

_(And that's my Nihaku Hatsuka!) _she thought, preparing for landing. The Master of Fists, however, was moving too fast to air recover. With a boom his body crashed into the ground. For about the first time in the whole altercation, Akuma actually stayed down this time...

Sakura's feet met the ground gracefully as her active teammates caught up with her.

"Keep your distance, you two..." Chun-Li instructed. Batsu murmured in agreement and Sakura carefully looked at the fallen body in front of her.

_(Stand up...) _she silently thought. _(There's no way you're down and out after that...)_

Not surprisingly, it wasn't too long until Akuma jumped backwards and to his feet... much to Sakura's relief...

_(Great. We seem to be wearing him down... He's starting to breathe harder now and he's giving up more openings...)_

"Hmph... Preposterous..." Akuma muttered. "Utterly preposterous... but..."

The more Sakura looked at Akuma's face... the more tense her body got. She could sense even more vigor within him than before...

_(Wh... what the...?)_

"It seems as though... I'm going to have to dig in to my strength a little bit more to beat the likes of you... Half should do it..."

As Akuma ended, his Ashura aura surrounded his body. The sudden burst of energy was unreal, and it made all three opposing fighters draw back a bit. Akuma's energy seemed to make the area around him turn into a blood red haze...

_(All of those attacks and it wasn't even half his strength...) Chun-Li thought, her mind starting to worry. (Just what is driving this man...? He's inhuman...)_

"Nnnnnnnnnnnn..."

Akuma's ki then seemed to stop growing, but at its current level it was overwhelming. Sakura was convinced. The devil himself had to be responsible for this version of Akuma...

The demon's eyes now rested on the three fighters in front of him. Slowly and stealthfully, he readied himself in his fighting stance. It was only a matter of time until he'd strike...

However, the attack never came. Suddenly, Sakura, Batsu, and Chun-Li sensed a huge build-up of ki... behind them. Akuma also sensed it... and it was enough for him to look for himself... His focus lay on Darrell, his hands wrapped around his body and his head down towards the ground...

_(His ki...) _Chun-Li thought.

_(It's about time) _Batsu said within his mind.

The dark-skinned fighter's body began to grow enclosed by a red aura... but not like Satsu no Hadou.

"On..."

Darrell's arms then went to his sides, his fists clenched and his ki forming into red hot flames...

"Hai..."

Then his head jerked up skyward and his eyes opened.

"SUUUUIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

On his command, the flames around him literally flew out in a burst before wrapping around his body in a dome like structure. A second later, they then clung to his body, almost as if he was going to perform his version of Kyo Kusanagi's Shin Ura 108 Shiki Orochi Nagi... only he didn't let them go from his body. As he looked over to the group, Chun-Li just looked on in awe.

_(Impressive...! That kid managed to control his flames that well? He's came a long way since that last altercation with Bison...)_

Suddenly, a rush past by the three fighters, startling them. At first it appeared Akuma tried a sneak attack, but a few seconds later, they found that the demon warped past them, quicker than normal, to make his way to the fourth fighter in the fight that he left alone. As soon as Akuma came in range, Darrell put himself into his fighting stance.

"No more games, Akuma," he said, confidence high in his voice. "We'll end this here!"

Akuma showed no signs of wavering from Darrell's words. He merely took his position... and waited on the first sign of movement...

_(I don't have long...) _Darrell reminded himself. _(The Onhaisui only lasts a few minutes... I hope I can make the most of it...)_

Not wanting to waste any time, that same fighter shot forward, his flames leaving a trail behind him, and threw his right fist forward. Akuma merely avoided the attack, but the blaze that followed from the punch blinded him from picking up Darrell's follow up roundhouse kick. The kick hit hard in the gut and it forced Akuma back a few steps. The living flame was quick to recover from his attack and dove forward with an overhead punch, then, as it connected threw a left uppercut to the jaw, finally ending the quick assault with a Youkoroken. Each attack scorched Akuma's body, the final special attack knocking him to the pavement. Akuma was fast to stand back up and managed to defend against the next attack to the head.

Darrell kept the pressure on, showing no fear in the heat of battle against the demon. After a few random attacks, Akuma eventually grew tired of guarding and broke his guard to counter attack. A one-hit Gou-Shoryuken found its mark in the young fighter's stomach and it knocked him back through the air, but even so, the Onhaisui still had a nasty surprise. The moment Akuma made contact, Darrell's flames burned his fist. If Akuma had not worn that glove on his fist, most likely it could've left a nasty burn.

Darrell hit the ground on his back and it took him a moment to roll backwards to his feet. However, this enabled Akuma to go on the offensive. The demon jumped forward and came down quickly with a shark dive kick. Darrell blocked it and the follow-up uppercut. Akuma then quickly dashed in and went low with a kick to the ankles that went by cleanly, breaking the opposition's guard...

"MESSATSU...!"

_(Oh, no...!) _Darrell's mind screamed as he saw Akuma quickly dig into his ki, his Ashura aura powering up and giving Akuma the strength he needed to unleash his Messatsu Gou-Hadou at point blank range.

Unlike the previous time, it went uninterrupted. The purple surge attack hit only 8 times, but it dealt the damage big time. Despite getting hit by a super art, Darrell didn't cry out once; he kept his peace as he once again grew grounded. At any other time, concern would've grown in a person's heart after seeing someone get hit so hard... but Sakura took the still ongoing Onhaisui as a note. The fight was far from over, as long as those flames kept burning...

After the attack ended, Akuma merely looked at his opponent, his eyes still resting on the flames that surrounded him. After about 10 seconds or so, Darrell flipped over to his hands and knees, keeping one hand on his chest to try to calm his heart from the heavy breathing. By now his shirt was beginning to tear, but right now his focus was on his own personal health.

_(Damn... Bad move...) _his brain said._ (He... must be... warning me... He could've just as well killed me right there and then...)_

As Darrell stood up fully, his back to Akuma, his eyes closed to blink. When they opened again, that situation quickly changed... The first thing Darrell saw was Akuma's leg lifting from the ground and at its speed there was no way he could guard against it. A sick gargling noise rose from Darrell's throat as he spun in recoil from the surprise attack. A sharp elbow then found its way into his backside, then a hard fist to the back of the head. The last attack was enough to make Darrell crumple to a knee once again, quickly becoming spent...

"H... he's not going to make it..." Chun-Li quickly noticed. "Even with that Onhaisui technique Akuma's still too fast and powerful..."

"I can't believe this..." Batsu muttered under his breath. "This freak's really THIS good?"

Batsu's eyes then went to Sakura's... and he took immediate attention. That worry that was absent in Sakura's eyes moments before suddenly increased dramatically...

"Darrell..." she whispered. She felt it in her heart. This Akuma was in a different ballgame from the Akuma of 10 years ago...

_(He... he can't do this... Not on his own he can't...)_

Once her eyes witnessed Akuma approach her husband, she had enough.

"Don't worry! I'm coming!" she yelled and before her two partners could pick it up, she broke into a run and steadily approached the Master of Fists...

"SAKURA! What are you DOING?" Batsu screamed. "You're going to get KILLED!"

The yell snapped into Darrell's eardrums and his head whirled around, seeing Sakura rush straight at their assailant...

"S... sa... kura...!" he started to say, but it was too late. Akuma, in turn, fixed his focus to the "Wild Cherry Blossom" and readied himself...

"Take this you freak!" her mouth warned, her voice seeming to echo all over the courtyard. Her ki started to build and her running speed increased... her right fist locked at her side... "YARU ZAKURA!"

Sakura got into range and threw a steady barrage of attacks at a constant pace. However, Akuma was ready. After the first two punches, the following hard kick to the chin was suddenly parried... then the following punch after that... and the small Yaezakura afterwards... then roundhouse kick... Unable to abort the super art, it wasn't until Sakura attempted to finish with her Shouoken that she realized that Akuma was steadily parrying every attack she threw at him...

"Enough!"

A fist suddenly rocketed towards her... and Sakura's eyes grew wide in shock... Darrell stared in horror as Akuma's fist found its way into her stomach, rudely interrupting the Yaru Zakura...

"Gaaack...!"

Sakura's mouth hung open as her body shuddered upon the impact. The wind was knocked out of her instantly, almost as if she was hit by a minibus at 80 miles per hour. Akuma then withdrew his fist, letting Sakura take a wobbling step backwards. Her eyes then closed from the immense pain that came from the blow... then, just as she felt her body begin to collapse and fall to the ground, Akuma added one final punch to her chest. Just like that, Sakura, the current Street Fighter champion, hit the ground, K. O. ed.

"N... no..." Darrell uttered in disbelief. He couldn't believe what just happened. His eyes kept their focus on his wife's fallen body, and every second that he stared at it, the more he felt heartache.

_(W... why... whyyyyyyyyyy...!)_

From the side, Chun-Li could see it loud and clear. The young fighters emotions were beginning to get the best of him...

"Stand down, Darrell! Don't do anything stupid! Just stay there!"

The words never computed in Darrell's mind. In an instant he stood up fully, caught one look at Akuma, and clenched both of his fists. His eyes were wild with a sudden fury that he couldn't contain no matter how much he tried...

"Dammit, Akuma! You're gonna pay!"

Suddenly, without warning his flames seemed to vanish, his Onhaisui ending unexpectedly in favor of a new attack. All his ki drew its way into his right fist, which he held above his head. In a matter of seconds he was ready... His aims locked on Akuma's body...

"I PUT ALL I HAVE INTO THIS FLARE!" he roared, his huge flame following its hand as is swept down and across his opposite shoulder. "MANATSUNOATSUSA! YYAAAAAAAHHHH!"

With the final yell Darrell sprayed his crimson flames in front of him in a wide sea hugging the ground, his new super art speeding its way towards the Master of Fists. Akuma braced himself as he prepared to guard against the sea of flames... but as they reached him, he suddenly warped through them... right towards Darrell...

Quickly realizing that his attack didn't have any affect, Darrell gasped as he tried to recoil his hand to enter a defensive stance... It never happened...

"Shoshi! (Pathetic!)"

Another fierce punch caught Darrell the exact same way it caught Sakura, and it had the same devastating effect. The younger fighter could almost feel his insides cave in as his body literally jolted off the ground from the sudden body blow...

"NOOO!" Batsu's shocked cry ran through the air...

"Nn!"

A quick Gou-Shoryuken quickly followed in that same vulnerable spot, lifting the hapless victim more so off the ground and into the air... setting up...

"MESSATSU...! YAAAAH!"

Akuma canceled, his body quickly gathering more ki energy, then suddenly his body whirled upwards, his leg outstretched in a much stronger Tatsumaki Zanku Kyaku, powered by electricity. After 12 kicks and reaching the height of the school's roof, Akuma delivered the final hard kick... and Darrell's body began its decent to the ground far below... Two seconds later, it crashed into the unforgiving canvas before resting conveniently a few feet away from his already unconscious wife on its side.

As Akuma landed from his Messatsu Gou Rasen, sudden cries of utter shock and fear ran from the few remaining student watching the aftermath of the battle. It didn't take a fighter to realize that neither Darrell nor Sakura was going to get back up...

"..."

The Master of the Fist just stood where he landed, staring at the two fighters he just laid out with no remorse whatsoever in his eyes...

_(So this is what a decade does to the two kids who managed to defeat me...)_

Quiet claimed the air... then a phrase escaped Akuma's vocal chords...

"Haji to shirei... (A disgrace...)"

A few seconds later, Batsu walked forward to the site of the catastrophe that had just occurred in a matter of moments. He said nothing upon reaching the walkway, keeping his eyes on Akuma as he walked over to his friends. His fists were clenched, but even he knew. No matter how hard he fought, Akuma was no Mugen Imawano...

"...I won't let you kill them..." he started as he stood in front of his friends, ready to protect them.

"I don't intend to. These two are utter disappointments. I wouldn't waste my time or energy paying them back for taking my life 10 years ago. I have much better things to do..."

At first a bit thrown off at that quote, Batsu still kept his awareness up. Who knows what this man could do...

"Pray that we don't cross paths again... If there is a next time... survival will not be a guarantee..."

And with that, Akuma turned his back to Batsu. From this position, Batsu could clearly see a kanji imprinted on Akuma's back that wasn't there before...

"TEN"

However... Akuma's focus no longer lay on the four fighters behind him... It lay on the three standing just in front of the gate.

"W... what in the world...? This... is what I've been sensing..."

It took almost forever for Kaoru, Yui, and Karin to get through the Tokyo traffic and to the source of the strong power that made its presence known a little over a half hour ago. As they got closer and closer to their destination, Kaoru could feel it in her heart that something was horribly wrong about this whole event. If it could trigger this strange headache within Yui, then it must be huge...

...but nothing in her life could really prepare her for what she was staring at right now. The moment they reached the school she was heavily concerned. This was where her "sister" worked at; the one who took her under her wing and care when she had no where else to go. The one who made sure she finished her education in a good school...

The same sister that time and time again always had to deal with corrupted people no matter where she seemed to go...

But this man... having blood red eyes... and a black karate gi... could easily give Kairi a run for his money...

"Who are you?" Karin demanded. "Why are you here?"

Akuma barely paid her any attention at all. Kaoru knew who his attention was on...

_(He's staring right at me...)_

Even though Akuma said no words at all, Kaoru was unmistaken. That glare... was solely on her...

_(Those eyes... That... that glare... It's like I'm... staring into the face of death...)_

That realization made Kaoru's body grow tense. The deadly aura that she could sense around him reminded her so much of her own power... only this one was much more powerful... Much more evil...

"Y... you..."

Kaoru's eyes suddenly rose up to Yui's face...

"You... I... I..."

Yui's expression was frozen in a weird expression, almost as if he was in a state of shock, yet trying desperately to remember something...

"I... I think I... I... AAARRRGH!"

Suddenly, his eyes closed and he gripped his head tightly, as if in pain...

"Yui!" Kaoru cried out as she turned her full attention to her husband, trying to figure out what was wrong. Even if he could, Yui couldn't reply to her. His head felt as if it was going to split in two... He kneeled down to the ground... his mind suddenly flashing briefly an image of something...

A man... with hair like fire...

"YUI!"

Just as quickly as the headache came, it left, and Yui gasped for air. Kaoru's hand instantly found its way to her husband's temple, which she could feel steadily going down in its pulse...

"It's ok..." she whispered. "You're going to be alright..."

Right afterwards, Kaoru's senses suddenly relaxed... She could feel it. That man's aura seemed to just vanish into thin air...

"He... he's gone..." Karin said. "Just disappeared without a tra... OH, MY GOD! SAKURA! DARRELL!"

"Ugh? Nani?" Kaoru gasped suddenly, her eyes whirling to the center of the courtyard. Instantly she felt her heart drop heavily as if it was lead. On the ground laid the tattered bodies of the two who adopted her, Sakura Kasugano and Darrell Markis, with Batsu Ichimonji right next to them, checking to see if they were even breathing. A few meters upwards, on the school steps, lay another man in a business suit... his shirt ripped in the front to show a jagged scar across the chest. As she saw Chun-Li come over to him, she could see that his wound was very fresh as well... just like the numerous ones that enveloped her brother and sister's bodies...

"I... don't believe this..." was all she could mutter, her eyes now taking a glance around to see the debris that lay around the courtyard of Tamagawa Minami. The grass on the left of the path was scorched by flames, the right tattered like a hurricane just flew by. In the distance a massive dent lay in the wall... The only thing that was left unshaved was the school itself.

"Kaoru..." came Yui's now calm voice. "Come on... We gotta see if they're alright."

"Yui... Are you..."

"I'll be just fine... but they won't if we just stay here..."

Kaoru hesitated. Just a few seconds ago Yui seemed to be on the verge of having his head explode... and all of a sudden he was normal...

"Are you sure you're...?"

"Kaoru, do you have those herbs that you carry around with you all the time? The ones that Rose gave to you years ago?"

Kaoru blinked then reached into her travel bag.

"Yeah..." she replied, quickly taking out a bottle of medicine that she always carried around with her.

"Great. Let's go."

Both Kaoru and Yui ran into the post-battlefield, making their first stop to Sakura and Darrell's motionless bodies. As they got close, both Karin, who already ran over to her rival and friends, and Batsu both looked at them.

"Stand clear," Kaoru ordered as she kneeled down and began to open the canister. "They're going to need some space."

"Hey... You're..." Batsu began.

"Yeah. Sakura's 'little sister', but right now the introductions can wait. I just hope I'm not too late and that their bodies aren't too injured..."

As Kaoru began to work on her task, Karin suddenly spun around to the sound of tires screeching just outside the school gates... Once she picked up the symbol of the trucks, she frowned.

"News Combo 7..." she muttered under her breath. She then looked at her two friends, then the Interpol agents up on the school steps. "You guys, get in my limo, pronto! We got to get out of here fast before we're overrun with reporters! I'll take you back to my Complex. Just get a move on!"

"Reporters...?" Chun-Li repeated. She instantly swore in fluid Chinese.

_(This is exactly what I wanted to prevent!)_

Without thinking much, she stood up and grabbed Ace's arm, hoisting it over her shoulders so that she could drag him down the steps.

"You heard Karin! Let's get out of here NOW!"

Kaoru reluctantly closed the bottle back up and put it in her pocket.

"I'm not done applying the medicine," she said harshly. "I'm going to have to do it in the limo..."

As she, along with Karin grabbed Sakura's unconscious body while Batsu got Darrell and began to make their way out of the school's courtyard, Kaoru still couldn't get one thing...

"Just who was that guy...?"


	8. Changes and Decisions

**_CHAPTER 8: CHANGES AND DESICIONS_**

**Location Unknown: 8:21 A.M.**

"Yes... This is good... Very good indeed..."

Monitors surrounded the otherwise empty room, their lights the only illuminations in the room. Outside of the monitors, the only piece of furniture that rested in the room was a desk accompanied with a chair. A woman sat at the said desk, her focus on a specific TV, larger than the other, resting in front and to the right of her desk. Her brown eyes were pleased at the carnage that had just played to her, while the rest of her body sat back and relaxed in the large red chair.

"If only they were dead... This... pleasure in seeing their pain... Very amusing trait of his..."

After a few more moments, a sudden, distant knock ran through the air.

"Leo... Come in..."

On cue, the door to the large room opened and in stepped a young man, wearing a Shadowloo uniform. He had a bit of a strong body build to accompany his black hair. In his hand rested a stack of papers.

"Miss Raven," Leo began, "I have some assorted information that you'd be pleased to hear."

Raven did not reply automatically. During the quiet pause, Leo stayed still. He took to notice that despite the fact that there were over 100 monitors in the room altogether, there was absolutely no sound at all from any of them.

"Leo... Come forth... Have a seat."

The man took heed and noticed the empty chair in front of Raven. The moment he sat down, Raven spoke again.

"Before you start... look at this..."

Leo turned his attention to the destruction that lay throughout Tokyo on the larger TV. The view kept switching from a highway where a truck overturned at a turn, scorched in flames, while fire fighters began to put it out, to the wreckage at a high school.

"This is the fruits of Shadowloo's labor," Raven said proudly. "You can thank our researchers for this display of power right now, Leo. The modifications on Akuma were a complete success. Not only is his stronger, faster, and deadlier, but also retains most of that ruthlessness he had before. He passed this test with flying colors. The beautiful part about all of this is that he has no recollection of being captured at all. He's not aware that just a little bit of my Seishin'ijousha Hadou runs in his veins... I hope those fools realize just what they're messing with..."

"Yes, Miss Raven," Leo acknowledged.

"While I am pleased at the results... I can't help but feel a little disappointed as well. A part of me says that Akuma should have killed those brats right there when he had the chance. They've been a thorn in Shadowloo's paw for over a decade now. Even more so because they destroyed him once... They should die for their insolence... However... their survival... gives me an idea..."

A sinister smile crossed Raven's petite face.

"Now that Akuma has exposed Darrell and Sakura for just how weak they really are... I think that it's suitable that we feed off that, don't you think? Leo... I shall come up with a plan... Ah, this is going to be sweet..."

A pause as Raven made eye contact with her subordinate for the first time.

"Oh... sorry," she suddenly said. "You had something for me?"

Leo blinked, then gripped the files in his hands.

"Bring them forth."

"Yes. Well, here's the story in a nutshell. Overall Shadowloo is now on the move. We have troops in Hong Kong about to go into phase 1 to overthrow the underground lords that are located there. From Shanghai, our new version of the Psycho Drug that we have been experimenting with for years has been slowed down in distribution—"

"And why, may I ask, is that?" Raven hastily interrupted, her voice showing a very small, yet noticeable hint of distaste upon hearing that news.

"Our reports from Shanghai show that our main outlet was taken out by the police force. The attention was grabbed due to one of our operatives being hounded out by the likes of Shui Mei-Ling and Xiao Fen..."

"Did we at least get any info on them this time? _Solid _info?"

"This time, yes, we did. The girls' analysis has been taken and stored into Shadowloo's database along with the latest data from Sakura Kasugano, Darrell Markis, and Hinata Wakaba."

"Excellent... I already am developing plans for those... three... As for Mei-Ling and Fen, I want Wei Fu on their case ASAP. He should be an excellent match for girls of that skill level... He should give them a good introduction to the world of... 'street fighting'..."

"Will do, Miss."

"Anything else?"

"Yes. Miss Raven, Cammy White is being held in the capture vicinity. Very soon we will begin work to complete the project that was started all so long ago..."

"Very well. The Doll Project should've finished by now but we ran into... difficulties... It'll be a good day for me to find out where Cammy malfunctioned at and to fix it."

"Also, in the revival project, Kairi was released in Siberia, however, he is moving swiftly. Our tracker indicates that he is heading back towards Japan. The same goes for the other individual that you had interest in. He was also released in a different location from where Akuma unexpectedly escaped from... Also, we've recovered the bodies of Geese Howard and Rugal Bernstein. They are going through the same procedures as Akuma and Kairi went through."

"And our fighters search?"

"Very well. A good 36 percent of the fighters on the hit list have been captured and waiting to be used for the... newer projects we have in store. At our current rate, it should take about three to six months for them to be fully operational and awaiting hosts."

"And once they are ready... then the world will finally be mine... He, he, he..."

Instantly, Raven stopped, her eyes, once brown, briefly flashed red before slowly returning to normal... She sat up in her chair...

"Leo... I have come to my plan concerning Mrs. Kasugano's and Mr. Markis's fate. Any word from the Hashimotos?"

"...not as of yet, however, Saya, Vexx, and Kai's communicators are heading towards the Japan base as we speak."

"Excellent. When they arrive, I want you to personally go and retrieve Saya for me. I have a very, very special assignment for her... Find her and bring her to me as soon as they check in."

Leo nodded. "Yes, ma'am..."

"You are dismissed. Make haste."

Leo paid his respects to his superior and left the dark room. The moment he left, Rave took a look at the files on her desk...

_Yes... This'll work... You'd like to see that suffering... of those two young ones... don't you... Oh? What's that? You want to pay someone a visit? Well then... That can be arranged..._

In a blink, Raven's body vanished from the chair, reappearing in another place. This new room had a silver color to it, and it resembled a very clean version of a prison, holding various people in the cells. Some were just inside like normal prisoners, and others were in special cells for their containment, hidden behind a special type of transparent steel. Raven put her hands in her uniform pockets and slowly walked forward through the corridor, not giving even the slightest glances at the captives and toned out their yells. Her pace never hastened or slowed, as she kept her eyes on one specific cell farther into the room.

_Yes... That's the one..._

It didn't take long for Raven to reach this particular cell, in which she stopped once she got there. Her brown eyes rested on a woman with braided yellow hair, wearing a special Shadowloo uniform that showed off the scars on her legs and arms. The woman herself was unconscious, her body slumped against a side of the cell. Raven stared at this woman for a few moments, then made it her business to teleport inside without using a code to unlock the door to the cell.

"Miss Cammy White..." Raven's voice filled the soundproof room, "You're not fooling anyone with such a mediocre survival skill, especially me. Open your eyes and face me."

A few moments passed and the woman finally slowly opened her blue eyes. She let out a low groan as she did so, her eyesight blurred slightly as she began to observe her surroundings. After blinking a few times, Cammy focused her attention on her own self... and gasped.

_Th... these... these clothes...! I... I remember these...! They're...!_

Cammy's memory instantly went back to places she wished she could strip from her memory altogether. The blue, one piece uniform... the brown boots... the specially designed combat cloves... and as she ran a frantic hand to her golden yellow hair... the small cap that rested on her head... Without thinking, Cammy jolted off the floor, grasping the blue cap from her head and looked down at her own body from this view.

_No...! NOOOO! _her mind screamed. _HOW?_

"Oh, please... Don't act so surprised... You act as if you never worn such a skimpy outfit before. Here... Delta Red... What? Is it a fetish thing that you have working for you?"

Cammy blinked and then rose her head swiftly to look at the person in front of her. With such dialogue, she expected to see Bison once again in the flesh in front of her eyes, dealing out that same sick smile he always had on his face. However... this person was different... yet familiar... Her voice... was the main thing that Cammy caught familiar to her memory. Upon looking at her, she recognized her face... and the red uniform...

"You..." Cammy said in a low tone.

"Ah, so you seem to recognize me, don't you? That's good. At least I don't have to repeat my introduction to you."

"Why... why am I here? Where am I and why am I back in this wretched clothing? What's going on here!"

Raven shook her head and gave a "tsk, tsk". "A shame... So being a housewife has really dulled your senses, hasn't it, Ms. White? Oh, and having kids? Tsk, tsk, Cammy. Tsk, tsk..."

Cammy's expression soon turned ugly. "...I swear if you did anything to my two little kids, I'll—"

"You'll what?" Raven snapped, crossing her arms while being humored by Cammy's threat. "Just what does your body and mind want to do once you find out this little bit of information? Huh? I wonder what you'd do when I tell you that you're kids are probably swimming with the fishes right now? I wonder what you'd try to do once you find out that they tried to prevent me from getting my hands on you again, and that I left them a prize for trying such a thing...? I really do wonder..."

By the time Raven was done, Cammy was steaming hot in anger. Her blue eyes hardened, showing off the look of a reawakened soldier that just woke from hibernation...

_Yes, that's it, Cammy... Those eyes... I miss those eyes..._

"I'll make you pay for even touching one hair with those stinking hands of yours!"

And with that the ex-Shadoloo doll shot off the wall and rushed towards Raven as fast as she could. Once she got close she reered back and threw a hard punch towards her face... only to find out that Raven merely moved to the side to dodge it. Cammy quickly pulled in reverse, dropping down a bit towards the floor...

"CANNON DRILL!"

...and threw her body forward, legs first and in a spiral as if she was a human drill. Her attack came swiftly, but even so, Raven merely jumped above Cammy effortlessly. Cammy stopped her attack and looked behind her, eyeing her abductor with utter fury. Raven, however, merely landed while bringing a hand towards her mouth... then blew a kiss.

"Try a little harder, why don't you, darling...?"

Cammy could feel a vein pop in her forehead after hearing that taunt. How dare this woman treat her like some toy! She wasn't going to have it. Cammy picked herself off the ground and pulled a 180, streaking towards Raven with enhanced speed. This time, Cammy attacked with very quick punches and uppercuts, her pace quicker than lightning. However, she knew that somehow, her attacks weren't landing. She could see Raven in front of her, but even so every time she attacked, Raven's image would just move out of the way. Growing frustrated, Cammy finally ducked down to try a low attack. Raven merely lifted a leg to let the kick miss...

"CANNON SPIKE!"

...only this was a bluff. Cammy shot off the ground with a strong rising kick to Raven's chin, flipping off and to safety once contact was made. As she landed, Cammy looked up... and was a bit thrown off that Raven wasn't on the ground, but instead her noticed that Raven's head jerked upwards from the force of the attack, staying that way. A few moments passed and Cammy stood her ground, waiting for Raven to move...

"Mmmm..."

Then, Raven brought a hand to her chin, rubbing it a bit while bringing her head down to its normal state. Her brown eyes didn't seem aggravated, but more like pleased... for some odd reason...

"Good, Cammy... Very good... It seems as if your time off hasn't made you a waste of space, after all..."

Cammy lowered her gaze a bit, observing this strange woman that stood in front of her.

"So Bison went on and made some stronger dolls..." she said out loud. "I thought he was done with the doll project after that last episode he had with them..."

It was then that Raven's eyes lit up... and it took Cammy off guard. In a blink of an eye, Raven's body disappeared... making Cammy gasp and grow wide eyed.

"Oh, but that is where you're wrong, Ms. White..." a familiar voice whispered to her behind her ear. Cammy's jaw dropped and her heart jumped to her throat, her eyes staring straight ahead as she could feel Raven's presence behind her. Raven held Cammy by her waist with one arm, pulling her close to her own body while the other held a finger just under the ex-doll's chin, her brown eyes very calm yet disturbing as they looked at Cammy. "You're wrong on quite a few notes..."

Cammy gave out a hushed "How?" over her sudden heavy breathing as her eyes veered backwards to just barely see Raven's face in her sights.

"Well, let me refresh you... You see... I'm not a doll... I'm the person that you were cloned from... just in another body..."

Cammy instantly sputtered and her heart pounded ten-fold. "B... B... Bi... son...?"

"In the flesh... but please... call me Raven... If you would like to look at it this way... Bison is dead... I'm his reincarnation... As you'll soon see, Shadowloo has started anew. New personnel... New leader... New targets... but the same ambition... Sounds exciting... doesn't it, Cammy?"

At this moment Raven paused, her finger that previously rested below Cammy's chin now driving down her neck to circle around her collarbone area. Cammy herself couldn't move at all. All this news hit her hard, rendering her paralyzed.

"Brings back old memories... doesn't it?" Raven kept going, her voice still very calm. "You going off to your latest assignment... Oh... what was that assignment again...? Oh... how about an assassination... Yes... that's what you seemed to specialize in... Just as good as your hand to hand skills... I can see it all so clear in my mind... You're targets are the underground lords of Hong Kong... You're already set for your mission... You're ammunition is packed to full capacity... you're weapons are set up as well. You're stalking your targets with lethal precision... They don't suspect a thing... They just go on about their business... You sit on your perch... a horde of Shadowloo soldiers right behind you backing you up... You aim your sights on the main kingpin of the Lords... He's right in your crossbars..."

By this time, Raven's finger now lifted off and aimed forward in front of Cammy for her to see. In a few moments, the tip of Raven's finger began to glow with a small purple ball of energy...

"And then you pull the trigger... and then... _bang_..."

As soon as the word "bang" came out, the ball of energy shot forward at lightning speed and exploded against the wall. Once it cleared out, the entire wall, despite the ball's size, was smoked in black.

"Mission accomplished... and Shadowloo is one step closer to world domination..." Raven finished, "and you'll be able to be part of its success..."

"No..." Cammy whispered. "No... You... you don't control me anymore, Raven... I won't do it... I'll stop you..."

"Ah... once again... you're wrong... Once we wipe your memories from your mind... you'll be perfect for doing the jobs I give you. You'll be the first 'perfect doll'... and certainly not the last... Face it... Times might seem different... and looks might be deceiving... but you and I are tied together. No matter where you are... No matter what you do... you can't escape your destiny."

"NO!" Cammy yelled out defiantly, "I won't be made into your pawn anymore!"

With that she began to fight her way out from Raven's clutches, giving her an elbow to her ribs to slip through. After getting some distance between her and Bison's new form, Cammy assumed her fighting stance. Raven merely looked at her with interest...

"I'd rather die than to go back to the way I was before! I've did so much without you... and I have a family now! You're a thing of the past! So is this syndicate! Your plans won't work! I'll make sure of it!"

Raven's expression quickly changed to interest to a hint of devil-may-care. "Oh, are you so confident about that? Well, I'd so like to see you try that, Ms. White..."

Cammy no longer held any words for Raven. Once again Cammy sprinted towards her abductor, this time getting ready to give her all into beating her opponent into submission. However, as she did so, Raven only put a hand on her chin, smirking as Cammy came closer. Cammy shouted out as she dove forward, paused in midair... and drove herself downwards sharply, her leg down for a kick. She thought she connected... but instead she was shocked to find that the image vanished the moment she made contact.

"What?"

"Heheheh..."

Instantly Cammy spun around to the direction of the chuckling and there was Raven, holding out a hand towards her. From her palm, out came a small orb of energy, creeping slowly towards her...

"What... what the...?" Cammy whispered. "What's...?" Then her eyes widened.

_I REMEMBER THAT MOVE!_

However, Cammy couldn't move fast enough... Raven's eyes flashed red... and she clenched her hand. Instantly, the entire room was engulfed by Psychotic Surge energy with a boom, and with the sheer smallness of the room, there was absolutely no room to dodge. By the time the view cleared, Cammy's body lie on the wall, ironically where it was before Raven came, her eyes closed and her uniform scarred. Raven then crossed her arms while staring at Cammy for a while, then chuckled.

"Don't worry, Cammy, you'll feel better when you wake up. You'll be just fine... and ready just in time to head over to Hong Kong for your first mission..."

And then Raven let out a laugh, so evil in tone that it could've chilled blood, and then warped out of the room, leaving Cammy unconscious on the floor...

**Hong Kong: 8:32 A.M.**

BIZZ! BIZZ! BIZZ! BIZZ! BIZZ! BI—

As of now, waking up was something Yun didn't want to do. With a groan, his eyes still closed, his arm flew from the bed and hit the off button to his alarm clock, making it stop its infernal racket. That same arm then slumped down to the side of the bed he slept on and his head lazily looked up, exposing his face from his pillow.

_Nnnn... What's... today...?_

Yun barely opened his eyes, but he did just enough to look over to the wall to his left to face a calendar. Several dates were already X'ed out so Yun just looked at the date net to the most recent X and then closed his eyes again.

_Perfect... It's Friday..._

As if it meant nothing, the oldest Lee Dragon prepared to head back on to sleep... except a certain other Dragon didn't quite see things that way.

"Yun Lee! Come on out! I know you're awake! I heard the alarm shut off just now!"

As if that weren't enough, Yun's bedroom door flew open with a bang, making Yun jump up and out of bed in a jolt. As he turned to see who disturbed his rest, something fell over his head, blinding his vision.

"You're always last to use the bathroom, Yun. Well, hurry up! Yang and I already took our turns and it's rude to keep customers waiting! Get a move on!"

Yun merely grabbed the item off his head, which revealed itself as a towel and stared at his little sister, Yin, who already had most of her clothes on. The only article missing was her shirt, leaving her bra the only thing on her upper body. Her actual shirt rested in her hand.

"Must you do that every morning...?" Yun asked lazily. Yin just took one quick gaze at her older brother, who merely had on a tank top and a pair of boxers, and shook her head in pity as she walked away from the door.

"Maybe I wouldn't have to do it if you'd wake up on time, not 20 minutes after your alarm clock goes off."

Yun shook his head clear to wake up fully, then made his way out of his room and down the hallway in the opposite direction that Yin went, and slipped into the bathroom. As Yin heard the door close she gave a quiet "Tsk, tsk" under her breath before slipping on her black kung fu shirt and descended the stairs to the lower level of their house.

Sunlight was already pouring down from the windows in the living room where Yin found herself at, giving it a golden color. As she passed the glass table, couches, and TV system and into a small hallway, she could steadily hear the sounds of a newscast from the room in front of her. It wasn't long until she was stepping into the kitchen area of their residence. The small TC on the table was on, displaying the news for the morning. Sitting in front of it was Yang, who wasn't really paying it much attention as he read a book where he sat.

"Is he up yet?" he asked, not looking up from the book.

"Yes, brother," Yin kindly responded. "Well... At least when I got him up. I don't know if he went back to sleep in the shower."

When Yang didn't respond, Yin made it her business to go to the refrigerator near the corner of the room and pull out a container of orange juice. She then looked over, putting the juice down on the sink counter and reaching up to open an overhead cabinet and grabbed a glass to drink from. As she started to pour her quick fix, something caught her attention on the TV...

"...with 21 days left until his suspension lifts, he should be ready to lift his team from its 7 game slump... Huh? What's this? ... Pardon the interruption, but we just got some breaking news from overseas. We take you to Ms. Ameri Cudo whose now in Tokyo, Japan with this most disturbing story."

Yin turned her attention to the kitchen TV fully, her eyes catching the female reporter as she stood in front of what appeared to be a school...

"Thanks. Here I am at just one scene of what could very well be the most vicious Psycho attack up to date. Here I am, standing in front of Tokyo, Japan's Tamagawa Minami high school, normally a very safe place for kids to learn, but just recently, that wasn't the case. Just a little less than half an hour ago, this high school was the setting for what students who spectator the assault could best put as a massacre. Sightings report that a man wearing a solid black karate gi and 'hair that resembled wildfire' appeared out of nowhere and attacked one of the teachers at this school. It just so happens that this teacher wasn't a normal teacher, but really also the winner of the Street Fighter 4 tournament that was held 4 years ago in this same city, 26-year-old Sakura Kasugano."

At that moment, a very shocked Yin paid no attention to her drink, not only becoming close to over flowing it but also nearly dropping the glass on the tile floor. Yang also looked up from his book and gave the broadcast his undivided attention.

"As news crews, including ours, got from the wreckage of an overturned truck on a local highway 5 miles away to this spot to the school, we managed to catch a glimpse of Sakura, along with her husband and financial leader of Metrosphere, Darrell Markis being carried out from the school with the help of others, including Interpol agent Chun-Li Xiang of Shanghai and owner of the Kanzuki Zaibatsu, Karin Kanzuki. Although when we tried to get any word from the group we got no response, we could cleanly make out that both Sakura and Darrell sustained injuries worth concern about. Luckily there were no other casualties in this altercation, but I hope that the world realizes that someone should get to the bottom of things around here. From Tokyo, Japan, this is Ameri Cudo. Now, back to the guys at the station."

As the screen switched to the news station once again, the younger Dragon slowly got over her shock and put her juice down on the counter.

"Wow... I hope they're ok..."

"You shouldn't worry, Yin," Yang replied. "That just reminded me of how she looked when she fought Kairi. She's a strong woman. Darrell, too. I've seen enough of them to know it'll take more to take them out."

"Yes... I guess so..."

Yang merely returned to his book while Yin began to sit down next to him. As she did so, sipping her glass of juice, a "meow" ran through the air. Yang put down his book and looked to the floor, catching the sight of a small white cat near his chair, looking up into his eyes. The middle Dragon smiled as he got out of his chair and kneeled down, letting the cat lap at his left hand.

"I think Yin's hungry," he announced to no one in particular. His sister looked over from the corner of her eye to see Yang go off to another cabinet, eventually finding some food for the cat.

_Ironic that he named the cat after me... _she thought.

By the time Yang finished pouring his pet's morning food, a sudden rush from the steps caught both his and his sister's attention. A half second later, Yun, now fully dressed minus his baseball cap, practically jumped down from the upper level to the floor below. As he bent down, he grabbed his skateboard, which rested on the floor next to the wall of the living room, all in one swift motion.

"Alright, guys," he called while coming into the kitchen, grabbing his blue baseball cap from the rack on the wall, "you ready for business? Let's move out!"

Yin smirked while Yang rose from the ground.

"You sure didn't act so ecstatic when I saw you in your room," she joked. She then gulped down the rest of her orange juice and threw the glass into the dish washer. As she turned around, she gave the cat a quick pet across its fur, then joined her brothers in the living room. Yun was already at the door, looking at Yang as he outfitted his body with his favorite rollerblades, his sneakers tied around his shoulder. Yin, in turn, went to the other side of her oldest brother and to her keepsake, a new-model sports bike that her aunt in Shanghai gave her for her 19th birthday.

"Back to the daily grind!" she announced, rolling the bike past Yun and out the open door to meet the busy Hong Kong city streets. As Yin made her way down the small flight of stairs to the sidewalk, she once against gazed at the huge Chinese signs above her head and the utter abundance of life in the street. Since she moves in with her older twin brothers 4 years ago, she grew accustomed to the change from the slightly less hectic lifestyle she had while living in Shanghai. She initially came here to find some way to pay for her aunt's medical needs whom she left in a bad state of sickness. At first she thought that the only way to pay for her needs was to win the Street Fighter 4 tournament, but once Yun and Yang inherited their restaurant from their grandmother, as well as ownership of the village the man she only knew as "Gill" used to own, and finally the... underworld connections that her brothers taught her about, she was quickly able to send the money needed to get her aunt well. It had only been two weeks since she called and talked to her aunt over the phone, but she always missed seeing her face.

"Hooo!"

"Yaah!"

Yin was brought out of her daydream by two yells from above her head. She raised her sights to see her brothers fly over her and into the streets, Yun on his skateboard and Yang on his rollerblades. A joyous smile crossed Yin's face, then pushed her bike out to the asphalt and hopped on, joining her brothers as they sped down towards the heart of the city.

The Triple Dragons moves through the populated streets like lightning, almost like water flowing through cracks in cement. They made no stops for traffic lights, either avoiding traffic or literally tricking and grinding off of obstacles in their way. As they moved closer towards the center of Hong Kong, the three siblings took advantage of the hills that made up the landscape. Rest assured, only the most skilled extreme sports athletes in the world could keep up with them.

The trio, Yun leading the way with Yin and Yang bringing up the rear, finally turned down a small side street, the buildings which surrounded them literally cutting off sunlight in a majority of the alley.

_Not much farther now..._ the leader reminded himself. A sharp turn down an alley... another into a slightly bigger street... and Yun caught sight of an intersection walkway. It was here that Yun stopped himself just as he came to the intersection, his siblings following suit. In front of their way was a street, but not for cars. Here was where pedestrians crowded the walkway, using it to either come to or form the center of the city. Under his cap, Yun's eyes looked a bit upward over the street, seeing a metal overpass leading from where they stood to the other side of the street and finally to a building with the words "Triple Dragon Restaurant" written both in English and in Chinese neon letters on its side.

"Hmm..." Yun mumbled, "It looks like we already have customers."

Sure enough he was right. At the upper entrance stood quite a few people waiting for the store to open and business to commence. Yin calmly stepped off her bike while Yun dropped off his skateboard, kicking it up into his arm. Yang merely stayed back as the others went up the ramp, taking off his skates to put his sneakers on. As the two other siblings got to the overpass, the customers patiently waiting at the door looked their way.

"Good morning," Yin greeted, her bring the first ahead of Yun, "Nice to see you so early in the day. Must be hungry, aren't you?"

"Well... you could say that. Yeah," one of the people responded.

"I don't know any other reason I should be here," his companion added.

"Then just sit back," Yun said, moving to the door to open the restaurant, "once we get the tools flowing we'll be ready to stuff your guts!"

The other 8 or so people remained their cool, talking to one another in a friendly conversation as Yun began to unlock the place. With a simple turn of the key Yun held in his pocket to reverse the locks, the Triple Dragons were once again in business.

"Step right on in, people," Yun instructed. "Looks like you guys got the best seats in the house today."

As people took their seats, Yin passed her brother, putting her bike to the side and grabbing her apron off a nearby rack. By this time, Yun was on her way to the kitchen area to prepare himself for the day, but he paused.

"Yin?"

"Yes, brother?"

"Just what the heck is taking Yang so long?"

Yin blinked. "I'm... not sure..."

"Do me a favor and see what he's up to."

"Ok."

Yin then put her apron back on the rack and went back outside, out to search for her brother.

"Yang?" she called. "Brother! Come on! We're starting to serve! Where are you...?"

As she turned towards the overpass she froze. Yang was most certainly there I front of her, but not without visitors... There were roughly 5 people in uniforms... Police uniforms... and the sight made her heart drop.

"Oh, no..." she whispered. "Don't tell me..."

"You're Yang Lee, are you not?" the lead officer asked strongly. Yang didn't' reply, but instead put his skates down on the ground and put his hands on his sides.

"What are you doing here...?" he asked, his voice very calm yet very cautious.

"We have evidence that shows you and your family has engaged in underworld gang activity over the past 7 years. We'd like to ask you a few questions... if that's alright with you."

"Before you do... tell me. Who are you in behalf of? And who sent you here?"

A pause as the main officer gave Yang a 'get real' look, then...

"We're here on the behalf of the National Police... The Republic of Hong Kong. Surely you jest... You haven't heard of us before?"

Yang didn't reply so the officer continued.

"Our sources indicate that you, sir, are... 'leaders' of this town. Just what happened to the local police force around here?"

"Well... yes, in a way," he responded, purposely leaving the last one unanswered first, "Technically my brother ran the police out of the village ages ago..."

"On what grounds?"

Yang took a slight pause to look at the officers through the brown hair that fell over his face...

"Because, sir, the police of the old age was not doing their job in protecting the lower class here. Let a crime happen in a little cairo shop. No action done. However, let the littlest problem happen in the most prestigious class. Consequences and repercussions would happen at an alarming rate. They didn't serve 'justice' so we dismembered that organization."

"Yang Lee, do you realize that such actions fall under the category of assault against officers of the law? Such a severe action could put you in jail for a long while, not to mention your underground reputation..."

"So what exactly are you getting at?"

"To make a long story short, you, in along with your brother and sister standing over there, are under arrest for the numerous charged chained against your name."

_No way! You've gotta be kidding! _Yin's mind screamed. _Me! Jail!_

"Sorry to say this..."

"Huh?" Yin gasped, her eyes right on her brother. Hidden from her sight, Yang wore a small smirk...

"...but by the way I see it, you hold no authority to take such... 'arrests'..."

"What's that?" one of the other officers asked.

The smirk on Yang's face grew to a sly smile...

"Nice try, whoever you are, but I'm not as stupid as I appear to be. Once of us in this group needed to know the legal system to avoid getting into such conflicts with the law... I don't know how you know about our little secret... but its obvious, you sure didn't come from this... 'National Police'... because such a thing doesn't even exist."

"Are you saying that we are imposters?"

"No... I'm saying... you're interrupting my time from serving these people with crap like this. If I were you, I'd take off those fake badges... turn around, and leave before I escort you out."

A scowl appeared on the lead officer's face. "Rest assured... what you think you're about to do will have some serious repercussions..."

"Enough of this..."

In a second, Yang blurred out of sight, startling the five officers on guard. In yet another second later, a yell from behind sounded through the air... and a body fell face first to the steel floor. The person... one of the 'supporting' officers...

"Quick! Apprehend that little inse—"

"Hai, hai, HAI!"

The leader was next, catching all three hits from Yang's Tourozan in the back. By now the other three officers locked onto Yang's body, preparing to jump him from behind...

"HIYA!"

...but he'd have nothing of it, instantly spinning around and slashing at his attackers with one giant overhead Tourozan, throwing them all back a few feet and to the ground.

"Now beat it!" Yang ordered. "I've had enough of you guys making me waste my time and energy—"

"You will not get away!"

"Looks like some people don't know when to stay down..."

Yang prepared to turn around to finish off the leader, who got off the ground in a rage and ran blindly at him... however, he didn't even get 3 feet within Yang's radius before...

"HAIIIII!"

...getting nailed from behind by a massive arm swipe in the back, producing an energy wave as his body flew into the air. With another mighty shout the second swipe shot from above, planting the man into the ground for good. Yang paused for a bit, then turned around, seeing his sister in her attack stance.

"Thanks, Yin."

"Sure thing, brother."

"Ok, guys. Just what in the heck is going on out here?"

Yang and Yin turned their focus to Yun, who came out of the restaurant, already in his cookwear. Yang then glanced back at the three guys that he laid out with his Ribassui Tourozan...

"Brother, these men... posed as imposters of the police to try to... 'arrest' us."

"Arrest...?" Yun repeated, he himself walking toward the waste his brother and sister laid haste to. "I thought I rid the village of the police a long time ago."

"You did," Yang replied. "I don't know what these guys were trying to accomplish, but this is something we should look into immediately."

"Yeah, definitely," Yin added on. "I smell a rat, here."

Yun gave his brother a firm look. "Fine, then. Yin?"

"Yes, brother?"

"Do me another favor. How fast can you serve 8 people?"

"Uh... 10... 15 minutes... Depends on the order."

"Alright. Let's handle business here, then... we head to the place..."

Yin and Yang nodded, then turned around and went into the shop, leaving the wounded men on the overpass. However... hidden to their eyes, a sudden beep rung off in the leader's clothing. Groaning a bit, he pushed his body off the ground... then tapped something in his shirt...

"Did you do as you were told?" a female voice rang through a hidden communicator.

"Yes... all went according to plan, Raven..."

"Excellent... Prepare phase two... Those saps don't realize that they're leading us right where we want to be..."

**Shinjuku, Japan 10:35 A.M.**

_Flashback – Last Night_

"_Asobi wa owari da! Nake, Sakebe, Soshite, SHINE! BAKA ME! HA, HA, HA, HA, HA! (Playtime is over! Cry, Scream, Then, DIE! YOU FOOL! HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!)"_

_BOOM..._

_A sickening explosion rumbled through the air and a purple blaze shot into the night sky, propelling a man back several feet before collapsing to the ground. This man wore short brown hair and wore a black jacket open to expose a white tee-shirt. The jacket itself held a circle on the back to represent the sun... and it was truly fitting considering who wore it._

"_Stand up, Kyo! I'm not through with you yet!"_

_Indeed. The man on the ground was none other than Kyo Kusanagi, but despite being the powerful heir of the Kusanagi flames, he wasn't fairing as well as he would against this person. No. The other man knew him too well to be fooled by his tactics. Almost... too well. He knew him more, probably to the point that he knew more about Kyo than Kyo knew about himself. This man was red-headed, a small black jacket covering over a longer white shirt and also sported red pants held together by the ankles by a belt and black shoes. One glance at him and there was no mistake as to who it was..._

_Iori Yagami..._

"_Yagami!" Kyo yelled at his rival, standing up while clenching his fists, "Don't get too confident! I'm just getting warmed up!"_

"_You can talk as much as you want," Iori belted back, "But it won't matter in the end. Tonight is your final night alive!"_

"_Bring it on!"_

_Kyo threw himself off the ground and clenched his fists one more time, throwing blows at a guarding Yagami._

"_Mada na! (Useless!)" the red-haired fighter shouted, breaking his guard and ducking behind Kyo... but he was ready. Kyo threw his shoulder back, knocking his rival back, then as he spun around he hopped forward, his fist catching aflame..._

"_Ora!"_

_Kyo's restrained uppercut, the 427 Shiki: Hikigane, was blocked... but things were far from done yet._

"_Hyah!"_

_Quickly following that, the brown-haired fighter followed with twin kicks while jumping forward. Iori still blocked this attack, the 75 Shiki..._

"_Kurae! (Eat this!)"_

_Once again, Kyo followed up with an attack. This one was a lunging flame cross, the 115 Shiki: Douki Gami..._

"_Yah!"_

_..then a backhand, the 401 Shiki: Tsumi Yoki. Kyo stopped here, letting Iori put some distance between them by hopping backwards and farther into the dark alley in which their latest duel was being held at._

"_Ukero... (Alright, you...)"_

_Kyo now started his next attack, ducking down, his left fist held under his chest, charging up a big attack... Iori stood ready to defend... but suddenly, he blinked..._

"_KONO BURO! (TAKE THIS BLOW!)"_

_As quickly as Kyo rushed forward to deliver the first hard hitting punch to his Hyaku Hachi Juu Ni Shiki, Iori broke his guard once again and knocked him back again with a strong headbutt. Kyo stumbled back and instantly went on the defensive... but dropped it once he realized that Iori ceased attacking him..._

"_What's the matter, Yagami? Your body fried?"_

_Iori's focus lay off his rival. He now stood up straight and alert, his head facing the west and towards the air..._

"_Hmm..."_

"_Well?" Kyo demanded. Iori then gave Kyo a look..._

"_This'll have to wait until another time, Kusanagi..."_

Another time...? Just what is Iori up to?

"_Consider this postponed. I suddenly seem to have some business to attend to..."_

"_Nani! Wait just a second, Yagami!"_

_However, Kyo was too late..._

"_I'm not through with you, yet, Kusanagi. Not by a long shot, but for now, consider yourself lucky that I left you alive tonight!"_

_By that time, Iori rushed off, much to Kyo's shock, down a side alley and disappeared. Kyo was tempted to follow him but stopped, keeping his sights on the alley that Iori just departed from... He then gave a 'hmph' and brushed himself off while heading back towards the main street, where his motorcycle awaited him._

Man... What a weird night this turned out to be...

_End Flashback_

_Yagami... Wonder what that hothead is up to... Well, I guess it doesn't matter to me now..._

It was the next morning and Kyo found himself riding the streets of Shinjuku after a good nights sleep at a hotel. As of now, Kyo's agenda was clear all until the day the fighting circuit started in the distant future, so it gave him the time to write to his girlfriend, Yuki, and travel around. Today rose a question Kyo regularly asked himself every morning...

_What to do today...?_

After a few seconds, Kyo remembered and heaved a sigh.

_That's right..._

Just his luck, too. He was right in the area, too. At the nearest intersection, Kyo turned down the street where signs for stores hung overhead. As he went down the hill, he could clearly see business being conducted in the open markets. However, his attention was on the bottom of the hill. As he got closer he could start to make it out. It was an outside restaurant, but he wasn't here to eat...

Kyo swung the motorcycle to the front of the restaurant and turned it off. The moment he did...

"Master Kyo!"

_sigh Right... Meet up with Shingo..._

Instantly a younger male of about 21 or so came up to Kyo, wearing some casual clothing and a traditional white headband along with his brown hair. Where as Sakura Kasugano was to Ryu, Shingo Yabuki was to Kyo... but to a much more... extreme respect...

"I'm glad you showed up," Shingo chimed. "I was beginning to think that you'd forget about me."

_As much as I'd like to at this moment..._

"Nah... I guess I can't do that," Kyo finished his mental note verbally, only Shingo never caught the full meaning since the first part wasn't spoken out loud. "Well then, now that I'm here, the usual? I mean, seriously... for some odd reason I haven't seen you for a few months now... What? You got into a fight and wound up in the hospital?"

Shingo's eyes began to light up. "No. Actually I've—"

"Well, look who it is..."

Shingo frowned as he turned to see who'd cut him off. The man walking up to the two was a bit of the famous King of Fighters Japan Team. He was blond, his hair standing on end, wearing a rather suggestive attire which showed off his stomach.

"Benimaru..." Kyo said out loud.

"Kyo. Long time no see. Still wandering around? DO you _ever _visit Yuki at all, or does writing love letters suit it just enough for you?"

"Since when did someone like you care about what I do with my relationship?" Kyo asked flatly. Benimaru merely smirked.

"I think I do have a right to see how my 'teammate' is doing. I mean, come on. You're never around and on one from KOF gets to see you as often as they like..."

Benimaru then paused... then added, "not like that's much to begin with."

"Alright, Benimaru..." Kyo muttered, his voice in a threatening tone.

"I'm just kidding, Kyo. Relax. So, what makes you come out here?"

"Guys...?"

"Well..." Kyo then glanced at Shingo, then back to Benimaru while jerking a thumb at his 'student'.

"Ok. Back to babysitting, huh?"

"_Babysitting?" _Shingo repeated. "I resent that!"

"Well, technically, Shingo here says that he's got something to show me, so I might as well kill some time and see it."

Shingo then took a deep breath to get his courage up while Kyo and Benimaru looked at him, then spoke. "Guys, as you probably known already I've been gone for quiet a few months now since the last KOF ended. I'm proud to announce that I've been hard at work training and that I've—"

"Hold on..." Kyo cut in. "The last time you should me your newest 'technique', you messed it up, fell, and had a concussion for two days."

"It's not like that anymore!" Shingo reassured. "Here! I'll show you."

Shingo then took a few steps backward and brought a hand up to his face, outstretched for both Kyo and Benimaru to see. He then held the pose and concentrated, his body tensing up and starting to build up some ki energy.

Kyo gave a 'hmph' and crossed his arms. He knew that Shingo was still a rookie at ki manipulation, so this little showing wasn't much of a surprise... However, after a few seconds, the little bit of energy Shingo summoned literally exploded and with that a short, bright ember appeared in his palm...

"What the...?" Benimaru gasped, his eyes widening with the sight.

"You're jerking my chain..." Kyo muttered. Even he didn't see this coming. "Since when did you learn this?"

Shingo smiled big, eyeing his master as he spoke. "A few days after the last KOF... make that 2 years ago, I met Mr. Saisyu Kusanagi, who offered me a chance to train under him. At first I declined since I still am under you, Master Kyo, but after all this N.E.S.T.S. stuff, I tracked him down and took him up on his offer."

_And that would be my father for you... _Kyo thought.

"After a few months of really, really hard work, here I am! What do you think? Aren't you impressed?"

"Well, I'm... astonished..." Benimaru said. "I mean... I didn't expect you to get this far just like that... I mean... geez..."

Shingo then looked at Kyo and asked, "How do you like the new me, eh? I'm one step closer to my goal to be just as good as you!"

Kyo's expression was more or less unchanged. "Ok, so you learned how to control flames. Fine... but how about using that in a fight, eh?"

Shingo snuffed his flames and asked, "What do you mean...?"

Kyo snickered... a special snicker... and Shingo sweatdropped.

_Oh, boy... I know that look..._

"J... just wait a second!" he cried, trying to back away, but Kyo was too fast for that. The Kusanagi heir grabbed Shingo by his jacket and pushed him back, making him stumble back into an empty table. Shingo, distorted, threw himself off it and put some distance between him and Kyo, finding himself on the city street.

_Geez! Why so rough...?_

Shingo readied himself as he eyes Kyo jumping over a table to face him in the sudden battle.

"Try this!" he yelled while rushing close and bringing his leg up for an overhead strike. Shingo blocked that, but missed Kyo's buffer to his next move.

"Body ga amai! (Your body is weak!)"

Kyo connected with his burning cross, the 114 Shiki: Aragami, then the follow up uppercut, the 128 Shiki: Kono Kizu, then finished with a roundhouse kick, 125 Shiki: Nanase. Shingo was sent spiraling to the ground... and even then, he wasn't safe.

"Gara aki da ze! (You're wide open!)"

Kyo quickly lunged forward over with another 114 Shiki: Aragami, but afterwards came with an overhead elbow driving itself into the younger's guy, then a follow up punch to end it. Groaning, Shingo rolled to the side, holding his stomach. As Kyo continued the 'schooling' on Shingo, Benimaru stood at the side, shaking his head.

_He might have grown a little, but he still has a long way to go to reach half of Kyo's level..._

"Oriya!"

"Ok, ok! I give!"

"You know better than that, Shingo! I sure didn't teach you how to be a quitter! Take this beating like a real fighter should!"

Shingo was burnt out for sure. Kyo's constant attacks were something he could never keep up with... but maybe... he could try...

"Now to finish it!"

Kyo ducked in close to give a strong body block, but out of nowhere Shingo used a hand to parry...

"Not yet! Yah! Shingo-kan!"

Surprisingly skillfully, Shingo took the opportunity to follow with a cross, fueled by flames, then he lifted off the ground in a solid motion, hitting with his shoulder. Kyo fell back but recovered, his eyes showing a bit of amusement in this turn of events. Just as Shingo landed from his "Shingo Dragon Slayer", Kyo opted to give him a dose of real flames with his Kotosuki You. Turned out to not be a good decision...

"Shingo Kiiiiiick!"

The younger fighter instantly shot forward and drove his master into the dirt with an overhead kick. From the sides Benimaru showed intense interest...

"You've gotta be kidding me... Two attacks dead on the money... Did that few months of training really...?"

Shingo threw a punch just as Kyo stood up, but despite the momentum shift, Kyo blocked it. Kyo immediately retaliated by throwing his body shoulder first forward to knock Shingo down, but the younger wisely hopped backwards. From here, Shingo could see Kyo wipe his glove across his mouth...

_That look... _Shingo thought. _Is that...?_

"Not bad... You actually hit me this time. Nice job."

After hearing that from Kyo, Shingo smiled.

_Finally! I pleased Master Kyo! It's been a while since he gave me that look!_

Kyo brushed off a bit of his jacket off with his hand.

"I think that's enough for now..."

"Tch. About time. I was wondering when you'd be done playing with that kid."

It was then that both Kyo and Shingo heard the sound of approaching footsteps from the street. On first glance, Kyo easily identified him. This individual was sporting black leather clothes all along his body, along with black and red gloves on his hands. His skin complexion was rather dark and his hair was a silver color. His eyes had a ver intimidating tone to it, one that gave off the feedback of a loner who definitely didn't care much whatever Kyo was doing before he arrived...

"Well, this is a surprise..." the Kusanagi heir welcomed. "My—"

"Shut up, Kyo," the silver-haired man hissed. "I know what you're about to say and I don't want to hear it, so just stuff it. I don't want to be here as it is, so don't make things harder on the both of us by making me beat the crap out of you. I won't hesitate to do it."

Kyo's face twisted a bit as he directed his full attention to this very familiar person. "That attitude's just like you..."

The silver-hair just spat on the ground. "Whatever..."

"Alright, K'. Just what brings you around here, anyway? Knowing you, it's gotta be good."

K', whose hands never removed themselves from his pant pockets, looked to the side to gather himself, then made solid eye contact with Kyo.

"Look, I'd thought I'd ever say this in my life, but here. Kyo Kusanagi, I'm... I'm going to..."

It was pretty clear that K' didn't want to say what he was about to say. His face made it clear he detested the very thought of it. He eventually closed his eyes and muttered something under his breath. As Shingo blinked, confused about the whole thing, Kyo raised an eyebrow.

"What's that?"

"Kyo," K' immediately belted out, "I need your help with something..."

Kyo's expression changed dramatically upon hearing that. As if enough surprises didn't hit him already, this was just crazy. First Iori bails out on a fight with him, which that alone was totally out of character for someone like him, then Shingo reveals himself to use flames, now K' asking for _help_... _HIS help..._

"This has got to be a joke..."

"Look, all because I'm asking you doesn't mean I want to. I'd take care of things by myself, but... things would be easier if I had a little insurance."

"What about your running buddies? Maxima and your—"

"Yeah, yeah... Like I said, I don't necessarily need your help. I'm just asking you because I feel like it. SO are you in or what?"

"I don't even know what you want me for."

K' took a long pause before replying, "I ran into some punks the other night who thought it was cute to pick a fight with me. I showed them up and now I'm going to finish it off."

Kyo merely stared at K'.

"That's it?"

K', in turn, gave Kyo an intimidating look. "Do I need to repeat myself?"

_Man, K' makes one terrible liar... but whatever. I'll take what he says for now... and find out what's really under his skin later._

"Alright, fine. You got a deal."

K' gave Kyo one more look before turning away and taking a hand out of his right pocket, eventually handing Kyo a sheet of paper, folded up.

"You just make sure you get at the spot at 8:00 P.M. tomorrow night. If you're late..."

K' left the threat right there and took a few steps forward away from Kyo before his body suddenly shaded out and disappeared from sight. Kyo, in turn, simply looked at the paper that K' dropped in the area where he disappeared at.

"What was that about?" Benumaru asked while making his way to Kyo.

"I'm not sure my own self... Want to come along?"

"Well, if you're going, I don't see why not... I wonder what's up with him, anyways..."

By that time Shingo walked forward and picked up the note for his eeys to see. On the front side was a map, a certain spot circled around the area of industrial territory near a major highway towards the south. On the back was some rather detailed directions, as if the map wasn't enough direction.

"Well, then," Kyo said. "Looks like my business here's over with. I'll see you guys later."

"Wait," Shingo called out, turning around to give Kyo K's note. "Don't forget this."

Kyo gave Shingo a quick smirk while simultaneously taking the noting and putting it in his jacket.

"Thanks. Oh, and by the way, if you feel like tagging along, Shingo... just hitch a ride with Benimaru. I'm pretty sure he'll take you."

As Shingo's face lightened up in excitement, Benimaru face-faulted.

"What makes you so sure I'll—"

"Trust me, Benimaru. I know you. Besides, after the last KOF, I'm pretty sure he'd be of some assistance. It couldn't really hurt... much..."

Kyo then added a mental note.

_I think... Man, I can't believe I'm actually saying this... Meh. At least Shingo could get some exercise out of this..._

"Thanks, Master Kyo!" Shingo jeered with a bright smile. "I promise you that you won't regret this!"

_Yeah... I just hope that promise goes unbroken..._

**London, England 11:05 A.M.**

"...and as you can see, the rebirth of Shadowloo has caused global damage at an alarming rate. Not only that, but quite a few of our operative have fallen under the 'Psycho Disease' that has been spreading like mad, not to mention that quite a number of world-renown fighters and important people have been reported missing ever since the first sightings of Shadowloo activity. We need someone, preferably a team, to investigate the few leads we have. Time is of the essence. So... do I have any volunteers?"

A relatively large meeting room housed a number of individuals sporting dark greet milita-esque uniforms. Despite the different sizes, shapes, genders, and ethnicities, not one operative rose their hand, stepped forward, or even made a sound to signify that they wanted to participate. The man who was in charge of the meeting grew a scowl on his face. In all his years, he never saw anything like this... This had to been the entire quadrant in this one room, and _no one _was going to even try to see what they could do? Fortunately, he wasn't the only one who thought so...

"What's wrong with you guys!" a fiery young man shouted, located near the middle of the room. "This is Delta Red! Have you forgotten our purpose? We're supposed to be up to challenges like this!"

"James, stand down," a calm voice said beside him.

"Calm down? In case you didn't notice, my best friend was shot and killed due to that damn drug! I'm not going to sit here and let those bastards get away with—"

"I said stand down, kid! We're not foolhardy here. You'll just wind up dead going off with absolutely no information on Shadowloo's intentions."

"Didn't you hear the man? We have leads! We just need to go and pick what we can get before those leads disappear, and if they do, then what? We really won't have any clue as to how we can take them down. Come on, Jeice! Rachel? Morris? You guys got to know what I'm talking about here!"

Behind this man, who was brown-haired, looked at the three people behind him. One was the person he was arguing with, who was a bit taller than he was and by the looks of him, definitely seemed to have more years of service under his belt than James did. The other two, one being a woman with blonde hair and around James's height, and the other being a man a bit shorter than the others with black hair, simply remained quiet, their expressions not wavering at all like the others in the room. James took a look at them all and grew disgusted.

"I don't believe you guys... Its times like this I wish Cammy White never retired from Delta Red. You guys went spineless on me."

Jeice remained calm, even though he knew that he could have just as well blew his top off right then and there. The main commander at the beginning at the hall heaved a sigh.

"Ok, I'm opening up the slots to someone who's got the courage to go find out what's going on. You have 48 hours. If no one steps up in that allotted tome, then mandatory signings will commence. You are dismissed."

Once the sentence finished, the room steadily cleared out. James merely looked around, his expression not changing at all, and shook his head before turning around and passing his comrades out the nearest exit. As daylight hit him for the first time in about 45 minutes, James sought out his post where his sector operated at. The Delta Red base was mainly like how any other militia base would look, where outside helicopters, planes, and the like awaited in the docking area. The weather was favorable, partly cloudy, but to him it didn't matter. He just couldn't get over what he just experienced.

_Rookie or not, I have more heart than those guys back there. I should be going off and finding out how to get Shadowloo back for all this..._

"James!"

The brown-haired man stopped a bit, letting Rachel catch up to him. Once she was close, James looked at her as she spoke.

"Listen, I know how you feel—"

"You don't know anything."

"Look, will you just shut that trap of yours and listen to me? I'm trying to help you out here."

James twisted his face and looked away, resuming his walking. Behind his back, Rachel cursed under her breath and picked up her pace.

"James..."

"If you wanted to help me, you should've put your hand up when we were in the room. What good is sitting around here if the info is out there?"

"It's because we don't have much of a feel to Shadowloo this time. This time their operations are more... precise. Before it was rather easy to get a feel of their intentions and their tactics, but now it just doesn't add up. We don't know what they have up their sleeve, and that's why we're biding our time until something really clear comes up."

James once again sighed, looking at the ground under him as they walked into a sort of a corridor leading farther into the base.

"So if that's the case, then why would he tell us that the leads that we got already need to be investigated if we're biding our time?"

Rachel remained quiet as they walked through the thin corridor, going pass an intersection of another corridor. This particular part of the base was where sectors would be stationed at, either to train, plan, or to rest. James was here for a little over 7 months, so he did know his way around, but still, someone like him wasn't exactly allowed in particular places, not that it caught his attention now... at least... until...

"You know... if Troy was alive, what would he do in such a time?"

Rachel closed her eyes to think it over, then answered, "I'm not sure. I'm not him. Rest assured if he was here, things would run better, but it's not like Delta Red hasn't been hit by this mysterious drug. I mean... I've been here 3 years and I've never seen anything like this... Troy wasn't the only one infected. People are afraid, and we're no different, really. We don't know what's causing it..."

"Yeah, well, neither do I," James responded. "I just feel we need to do something about this. I feel as if we're the only ones that can actually at least try to bring Shadowloo down..."

A few moments of silence as the two turned down another corridor, this one close to their station, and then James started again.

"You think Cammy's doing ok? I mean... I never met her... She was long gone by the time I came here, but I've heard the stories of her. How she used to work for Shadowloo before she came here... and how she was always ready for whatever was thrown at her..."

"Yeah, you're right. She was..." Rachel replied. "She was probably the best operative we had on the force. Nothing really seemed to phase her. All that mattered was the task at hand... It was like she was made just for that purpose..."

"She was?"

Both James and Rachel blinked. This voice was different from either one of theirs, as a matter of fact, it was a lot more youthful than even James's. The two spun around to eye the way in which they just came... only to find out that it was empty, just like they remembered. After a few seconds, James began to walk forward, eyeing the sides of the hallway.

"You... heard that, right, Rach?" he asked.

"Well, yeah... You don't think it was our imaginations?"

"Yeah, I doubt it. I heard it loud and clear. Someone's here."

After a few more steps, James came to a set of doors that they passed while talking. These led to another part of the base, but once he looked downwards, he blinked.

"What the heck...?"

On the ground on both sides of the door were two kids, both with golden blond hair and blue eyes, and if it weren't for the fact that they were different genders, it seemed as if they were twins...

"You see, Drake!" the girl spat. "I told you to keep your mouth shut!"

"Sorry! But I just heard mom's name called and—"

"Mom...?" James repeated. "You're telling me that you two are—"

"What are two young kids like you doing here?" Rachel interrupted, coming up from behind James to inspect herself what was going on. "And a bigger question; just how in the world did you get past security?"

The girl twin made a face before answering, "Well, we're caught... Might as well spill it..."

_Flashback – Earlier today_

"_Drake... What are we going to do...? We tried the police... and I got this feeling that they can't help us..."_

"_Yeah, I know what you mean. I don't like this one bit. We need to do something..."_

_We were sitting on the steps of our front porch a day after our mother was taken away from us by this weird woman in red clothing. Just before she left, she attacked my brother, who tried to stop her from doing such a thing, but then she just punched him and blew him across our living room floor, making him collide into me in the process. I quickly came to and so did he, but at the moment I could barely think. For the first time in my life, I truly felt alone without my mother. Even if we were separated it was because maybe we were at a friend's house or something like that, but this was different. Our mother was stripped from us, and it really hurt. After a while, our next door neighbor found her way to our house and we told her everything. She was just as shocked as we were, and instantly we went to the local police to report it. At first they didn't believe us, but as we kept pleading our case, they, reluctantly, accepted our case. However, it's been a full day and we haven't gotten any word at all. They barely inspected the scene of the crime. So all we had to remember our mother by was the pictures in the house and... the box of flowers that was left on the floor. Right now I held the box in my lap, staring blankly into the sky above us. I couldn't stop thinking. Where was she? What's happening to you? I couldn't stand being like this... I gave the box in front of me one more look and saw the information on the side._

"_For your many years of service to us. To: Cammy White. From: Delta Red."_

_At first I didn't quite understand what it meant. Mother never told us anything about this "Delta Red" and I never heard of it myself. Neither did my brother. But as I looked at the words again, I felt... strange... I couldn't explain it. I felt as if... in the back of my mind... I sort of had an idea as to what it could be. After a while to think it over, I looked at my brother, who was heavy in thought as to what we could possibly do about all this..._

"_Drake, come here..."_

"_What is it, Noel?"_

"_Look at this and tell me if you make any sense out of it."_

"_Noel, I already looked at the stupid box..."_

"_Oh, just shut up and read this."_

_My brother heaved a sigh and scooted over close to me so we were side. I pointed to the words that I was looking at before and together we read it. It wouldn't take a normal person more than 5 seconds to read that little bit right there, but for us it took more. As I read it, over and over again... something... weird happened. I blinked... and in a flash, I could... picture things... It happened really, really quick, but I picked most of it up. I could see a building... a really large one. I could see it as if it was an army base. Then I could see another thing, as if we were inside and in a room full of guns and stuff, items mom really kept us from and we saw in movies, only this felt so real... and other things... I blinked again and I could feel my pulse quicken as well as my breathing. Drake was doing the same thing..._

"_Whoa..." he whispered, just loud enough for me to hear. For a while we both said nothing. I just felt... weird... What just happened...? But at the same time... things started to make sense... out of thin air. I looked at the words "Delta Red" again, and then I could feel a rush..._

"_Drake... Come on."_

"_...I guess you feel it, too..."_

"_Yeah. We're going to see just what this 'Delta Red' is today. I... I think we can start there... and I know how to get there."_

_End Flashback_

"And here we are," Noel ended, "For some reason, getting into this place was pretty easy. We... just followed our instincts and... we got this far..."

She then shot Drake a hot look...

"...and we could've gotten farther if a certain brother of mine kept his mouth shut..."

"Look, I told you what happened! I'm sorry! Yeesh. Don't be such a—"

"Hmmm... so... what are your names again?" James asked.

"Well, my name's Noel White and my idiot brother is named Drake White."

As Drake shot Noel a look to equal the one she was giving him, James looked at Rachel with interest.

"You don't think...?" he started to ask.

"Let's find out."

Rachel then cleared her throat to get the young ones' attention then said, "Are you, by any chance... related to Cammy White?"

"Yeah. She's our mother," Drake responded hastily.

_I knew it... but still... this is... just... weird... What are we going to do with these kids?_

"Have any ideas?" James whispered to Rachel. The woman twisted her mouth and thought it over in her head...

"Yes. This... 'vision' they had... It's interesting. I have an idea. See if you can find Morris and Jeice and tell them to meet me in the lab. I'll be there waiting for you. Go."

"Sure thing."

James then shot off, leaving Rachel with Cammy's offspring, who were staring at her from the floor still.

"Well, you two, since you're here, you can follow me. I can help you out, but first, I'd like you to do something first. It won't hurt. Ever heard of a CAT scan?"

Noel and Drake looked at one another and then back to Rachel. "Well, yeah..." they both responded at the same time.

"Splendid. Now, get up off the floor and follow me. What I have in mind is similar to that said scan... only it should tell us more about what's inside you two..."

**5 minutes later...**

"Whoa! Too cool!" Drake wowed. "I never saw so many gadgets before!"

"Well, make sure you don't touch. Some of this stuff's pretty dangerous."

After a while of walking through the inner workings of Delta Red, Rachel finally led Noel and Drake to an operations lab of sorts. Inside this chrome-colored room sat various decides and working tables towards the walls, but the main attractions rested towards the center of the room, where large machines sat that could hold people in it. Not to far from these devices sat control panels to monitor the process of the activity at hand. Rest assured, neither of the White twins had seen anything like this; it definitely beat out the labs in their school...

"Now, come with me..." Rachel instructed, and walked inside. The twins had no problems following her inside the room, Noel not keeping her eyes off the woman while Drake's eyes wondered all around as if he was a little kid in a toy store. After a few short steps, Rachel stopped in front of a contraption that really did resemble the type of CAT scan in which the person being scanned had to lie down in a conveyor belt or sorts and be led in. This particular model seemed to be able to hold up to five people in its pods...

"Noel? Drake?" Rachel called, I want you to lie down in a pod next to one another and just relax. I just want to take some scans of you for a quick second. Ok?"

Noel and Drake both nodded and then chose two belts at random to use. As they got situated, Rachel took her position in the control panel and began to activate the machine. On the little screen in front of her, she touched the icon that said "Initiate", which led to a "Are you sure" window. Rachel then looked up, saw that the twins were ready, and then pressed yes. As soon as she did, the machine as a whole began to whirl softly and warm up, then, after a few moments, the gears that moves the belts began to move, pulling Noel and Drake into the scan portion of the portal.

_I wonder what this does... _Noel asked herself as she began to close her eyes as she felt her whole body become encased by the scan portal. Outside, the Delta Red operative began to observe the readings from the two active portals...

_Hmm... Nothing in interest, yet..._

Quiet ensured through the room outside of the humming from the scanner. Rachel kept an eagle eye on the scanner for anything in particular that could be of use to her, but as time came on, nothing came up. After a few minutes, the quiet was broken once someone entered the door...

"Rachel! Just what in the world is going on here?"

Rachel turned her head to see James, but behind him stood Jeice and Morris, Jeice in particular who was most displeased about this turn of events... As they approached, Jeice spoke again.

"Are you crazy? I don't care if they are kids of Cammy White! Anyone under the age of 18 shouldn't be here at all. What are you thinking?"

"Jeice, look. I... just have this feeling that something is up with these two. Did James tell you the story the girl told you about?"

"Yeah, he did," Jeice replied with a scowl on his face, "and I don't buy it for a second."

"How can't you? Don't you know how hard it is to get here at all, let alone past our security? Cammy isn't with us anymore, so they couldn't have gotten here through personnel... Plus, those visions... It's worth a shot."

"Yeah, well, I hope you're satisfied with nothing, because that's what you're going to get from this scan."

"Just come here and see for yourself. I got a hunch." By this time Rachel turned her attention back to the monitor. "In the bottom of my heart... I just got this... huh? Guys! Come quick and look at this!"

James' head shot up at the call and with the rest of the sector, he made his way to the control panel. And right there, Rachel, Jeice, Morris, and James all looked at both Noel and Drake's readings...

"What the hell is that...?" Jeice asked. Morris, in turn, didn't respond verbally, but his eyes widened in shock at what he was seeing. On the radar, on the display that showed both twin's body builds in an infrared scan, an odd and very strong reading of dark energy sat in their bodies, literally covering all around them...

"It seems to be some sort... of... artificial energy..." Rachel analyzed "and if I'm right..."

She then pulled away from the group and made her way to a nearby file cabinet near the far wall of the room. She pulled out a drawer near her waist level and after a while of browsing around she pulled out a report file and carried it over to the scanner. Rachel then pulled out a sheet from the file and placed it next to the scanner's results...

"Hah! I knew it!" she exclaimed. "Look. Their energy seems to be part of the substances that was found in Troy after he was infected. That can mean..."

"...that our kids here... are either infected themselves..." James kept going, "or are immune to it to have it so long and to not have gone berserk like very one else."

"My guess is that they're not only just immune..." Rachel said, "but because of this... strong barrier of Psycho energy, Noel and Drake were able have those visions of Delta Red and managed to get through security just by instinct. It seems as if we have ourselves a secret weapon here..."

"So... you're saying..." Morris said cautiously in a bit of an American accent.

Rachel only nodded, then proceeded to press some buttons on the panel. In a few moments, the whirling died down and the conveyor belts worked in reverse, exposing the two kids to light. Once they were out fully, Drake was first to sit up, rubbing his eyes to get accustomed to the room's lights...

"So, how did we do?" he asked, his sister soon getting up herself. The 4 Delta Red operatives looked at the two White twins for a while, then Rachel cleared her throat.

"Noel? Drake? I'm about to ask you something that I have a hunch that you'll agree with no problems... You say that your mother was abducted, correct?"

Both siblings nodded.

"Well, then... how would you like to rescue her? What do you say... that you become operatives to Delta Red?"

On instinct both Noel and Drake blinked.

"Say what?" Drake gasped. "Really? You mean... be a part of this place?"

"Yeah..." Noel added. "Don't you need some sort of training and stuff to be like that?"

"Oh, trust me, you'll be able to undergo the procedures needed to be part of the force. If you're part of Delta Red, I guarantee that you'll find your mother. The scan revealed to us that you have the tools inside of you to be able to do it. All we have to do is harness it. You really remind me of Cammy when she first came here... Trust me on this, you two."

Noel and Drake both looked at one another and then pulled close to think it over. After a few whispers, both broke from one another and then looked back at Rachel.

"If it means that we can get out mother back from that woman..." Noel answered, "then you can count us in. What do we have to do first?"

**Hong Kong 11:10 A.M.**

"Here we are."

The Lee Dragons were long done with their morning orders, but the real time consumer was getting to "The Spot", which was held in a pretty secluded stop in Hong Kong. It was here, hidden in the darker alleyways of Hong Kong, that the underlords of the city had neutral ground at, and probably the only place that was 'stable' in the whole city in that tense. Yun and Yang knew it firsthand how easily trusts are broken here and how hard it is to make them. Way before their town was 'given' to them, they were well known for their brawls in underground tournaments to protect what they worked for and to get things normal little boys couldn't get with their normal income. However, here, different business was at hand.

"Hopefully, we won't need to get 'physical' with anyone this time around," Yun added to his previous statement. As of now, all three siblings stood outside of a door in a small alleyway, which led inside a rather well decorated building. Yun, Yin, and Yang took off their extreme gear and put it in a spot hidden to anyone else next to the door; a 'closet' hidden in the confines of the wall. Once that was taken care of, Yun opened the door and went inside.

Once inside, Yun once again laid eyes in the orange and red interior within the hallway. Doors were planted on the side every so often and towards the walls hung exotic painting and tables to add the little extra flair to this place. As the Lee Dragons went forward, they kept their sights out for the place they needed to go... Here, every room had its own purpose. "The Spot" was just that organized...

No words were shared among the three as they came from out the relatively long hallway and towards an opening... Once outside, the Dragons found their way to a really large room, almost as if it was a lobby. A staircase was located in the middle to lead to the upper level. The windows here were large and had windowpanes the right size to accompany it.

"Well, well... Look who's here, guys."

The Lee's sights turned upwards to see a bunch of individuals on the upper overpass, most of them were outfitted in street clothes and had their sights set on them. The attire was universal, mostly green all around, and on any persons body Yang knew personally that there was an image of a Viper somewhere...

_The Viper Gang... _he said in his mind.

"Haso!" Yun called out, "Come on! You know better than to leave your gang unattended! Someone could just snatch them up!"

"Hmph. Looks like someone never loses their sense of humor..."

Yun's focus shifted to the staircase, where another young man started to descend it. This one was different than the others. For one his attire was much spiffier, wearing a business suit and such. Overall he was really well-kempt, all the way up to his sulked black hair. As he touched down to the lower level, Haso welcomed his "visitors."

"It's been a while..." he said, putting his hands in his pockets and giving all three siblings a cool look. "Tell me what brings you here."

"I want a talk with the lords." Yun ordered. "Recently we just had an altercation with some guys who were dressed as policemen to try to warrant arrests. I want to know if this happened to anyone else."

"Well, I can tell you right now that no such thing occurred to us... At least, in our territory," Haso said confidently.

"Anyone else complain about it?" Yun asked.

Haso looked over to the side for a moment and closed his eyes. "Not to my knowledge. Tell you what. I'll let you speak to my father and the other lords... if, of course, you can get past me."

Yun twisted his mouth. "Oh, come on... Not this again... You know darn well I can stomp you into the ground whenever I felt like it... Why are you stalling?"

"Who said I was stalling? I'm dead serious. It's the way things are done around here and you know it. Don't act like such a wuss, Yun. Then again, you don't necessarily have to fight if you don't want to. I'm looking at your sister right there... She looks like she's itching for some action right about now."

At the call of her name, Yin's head shot up and she blinked in surprise. "H-huh?" she sputtered, a bit confused. "I am?"

Haso smirked. "Either her or your brother. Doesn't matter."

"Don't bother," Yun said quickly. "I'll be more than enough to get this over with. No need getting my siblings involved."

"Now that's more like it," Haso said with a smile. With that he took a few steps forward so that he was just in front of Yun. Yun fixed the blue and yellow cap on his head and then walked forward himself to meet Haso. As they made eye contact, Haso stepped into a ready stance as Yun did the same. From here it was a stand off. The entire Viper gang kept their eyes on the two down below in quiet as Yang and Yin did the same. As Yang put his hands in his pockets and Yin took a seat on the ground to watch, Yun took his full attention to the young man in front of him.

"Ready?" he asked, his eyes hidden under his cap.

"I'm always ready."

"Set... Go!"

BANG

No sooner did the words come out, the air was stricken by a deafening sound that made everyone's heart pound three-fold. Haso and Yun's eyes widened in shock and they got out of their fighting stances.

"That was NOT what I think it was," Yun muttered.

"A gunshot..." Yang whispered to himself. Yin's eyes flew upwards to the hallway on the upper level.

"Brother! It came from up there!" she shouted out.

"Vipers!" Haso called out, "let's go find out what that was!"

Yun didn't need to say anything to either Yang or Yin; the three siblings followed Haso up the staircase where the Vipers waited for their leader to be fully upstairs before they followed suit. The entire group rushed down the hallway, which was shorter, yet wider than the one before, and it wasn't long until they reached the end of the hall, which had a big set of double doors. Together, Yun and Haso busted through the door... took a gave inside... and almost on sight Haso's jaw dropped.

"No... NO!"

This room was a meeting room, special to any other in the entire building. This was where the lords of Hong Kong met at on a regular basis to discuss even the most menial topics, however, it was quickly not the case today... At the center table, men of at least 40 and above in age were crowded at the end of the table closer to Yun and the others, and from this angle, Yun could clearly see a elderly man on the floor, his chair on the floor and his eyes wide. Where Yun's focus was at, however, was on the hole implanted crudely in his forehead... It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened...

"GRANDFATHER!" Haso screamed. Instantly he shot forward towards the group and knelt down next to his father. As Yun and Yin heard his sobs and pleas for assistance, Yang's eyes veered off to scan the room.

_Hmm... No sign of an altercation... No smell of gunpowder... So who could've..._

"Don't just stand there! Someone here tell me what the hell happened here!"

Despite the manner of such a tragic event, the elders didn't reply to Haso's demand. The young leader of the Vipers looked up to eye each and every person around him...

"Bastards... The whole lot of you... You were all in on this, weren't you! You knew my father owned the largest amount of the Hong Kong underground! I should've known it'd be a matter of time before you all joined up to do such a thing..."

By this time tears steamed heavily from Haso's eyes and he collapsed onto his father's corpse. One of the lords knelt down to put a hand on his back but Haso quickly swatted it away.

"Look... no such thing happened... Someone from the outside was responsible for this... It was a clean assassination... as if the bullet was just invisible and waiting to hit its target... We were conducting business... and then, bang..."

"Did the sound come from his head?" Yang asked, bringing attention to himself. "By the way and sound of it, I doubt it. Someone here is trying to make a statement..."

"We have our bodyguards outside investigating this. So far, nothing..."

"THE WINDOW! WATCH OUT!"

Yin's cry brought attention to one of the window panes at the height of the room. There stood... someone... with a gun aiming straight for...

Before the thought could complete, everyone else hit the deck, just as another BANG ran through their eardrums. The sound of a bullet ricocheting off the table then followed by a few more... then silence... Yun peered over to the side of the table in which he hid under and towards the window.

_You'd think someone as cowardly as that would come and handle his business like a man..._

"COWARD!" Haso yelled out, standing from the ground to look at the window where the sniper was situated at. "Come down here and let's see if you're so tough up close and personal!"

"Hmph... If that's the way you want it..."

Yun blinked at the new voice in the room. Not because it was above her, but rather at the tone of it... After a few moments of silence, the sniper showed his... or rather, _herself _for all to see in the window. Even before she jumped down from her perch to the floor below, Yang clearly made her out. She was wearing some sort of silver uniform, brown boots, red gloves that had some weird design towards their engineering, and blonde hair that was done in a very long ponytail...

"Who the heck are you?" Yun asked, standing up as well along with the rest of the people in the room. The woman was definitely not of Chinese ethnicity... In fact, she was very English, indeed... Everything about her screamed that... except her eyes, which were blue, yet extremely hardened...

_Scanning the perimeter... Targets confirmed... One down... Seven to go... Likeliness of failure... 0.02 percent..._

"Hmph..." she finally said verbally. "You could've made this easier on yourself if you just shut your mouths and let me pick you off like fish in a barrel. Now I have to get my hands dirty with scum like you..."

"Hey, are you listening to me?" Yun yelled out, catching the woman's attention. "Just who ARE you?"

The blond woman turned her head to Yun's direction, where Yang and Yin stood behind him...

_Hmm... well... this is interesting... The famous Triple Dragons of Hong Kong... Yun... Yang... Yin... Analyzing fighting data... Threat rating... menial... This should be easy practice for me..._

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you this before I finish you off along with the others in this room," the woman answered, putting up her fists to provoke a brawl. "Raven will be delighted that his first perfect doll was able to not only take out all the kingpins in the Hong Kong underground and capture the Lee Dragons, but made way for Shadowloo to take over this city... all by herself..."

"Take over the...?" Yin repeated. "Capture _us?_ No way!"

"My sister's right!" Yun said while stepping up towards the woman, accepting her challenge. "No way are you getting all that we've worked so hard on, even if it was through underworld connections! You'll have to go through me and my brother and sister before you can do that!"

A smirk grew on the woman's face as all three Lee siblings approached her to get ready to defend themselves... then she whispered to herself, "Miss Raven. Cammy White, here. Ready to initiate combat mode."

"Affirmative," came a voice in a hidden communicator in her ear, "Show these weaklings just what they're dealing with..."


	9. Recuperation

**_CHAPTER 9: RECUPERATION_**

Note: Sorry about updating so late and with only two segments. I was away and handling other things... However, I think the one before and after this one will make up for this one's length. Think about this as a bridge chapter or something like that. Also, I might go back and add a bit more a little later, but for now, enjoy this little bit right here.

**Tokyo, Japan 3:01 P.M.**

"Uuuuuuuuuugh..."

"Ok, the medicine seems to be working fine. Take things easy, Sakura... Don't strain yourself..."

As Sakura's eyes opened at first, she couldn't make anything out. Her eyes were only able to make out a haze of colors. To add to that, her body felt as if she was hit by an exploding torpedo. Through the pain all throughout her body, she groaned as she blinked, her vision now catching that of an individual looming over her. It was a young woman, wearing casual clothes and her mid-length black hair was accompanied by a very familiar dark skin tan. After a few seconds, Sakura's mind was able to identify her.

"K... Kao... ru..."

The young woman by her nodded slowly.

"Yes, Sakura. It's me. Lucky for you I was in the area and with Karin when we caught the ki signals from the battle you were in. I don't know what that was all about... and I sure don't want to stress you, but... just who the hell was that man, anyway?"

"T... that man..."

Then, against Kaoru's concerns, Sakura sat up, wincing as she got to a comfortable position. The pain from her stomach reminded her of the events that occurred just before she blacked out. Her thoughts kept her from realizing that she lay in a rather comfortable and decorated bed, way too good to be her own.

"He... he just came out of nowhere..." she muttered, just barely loud enough for her "sister" to pick it up, "and... and made such... easy work of us... He was barely trying... and I gave him some of my best attacks..."

Kaoru's face remained expressionless as she looked at her "sister". She could very well sense the trouble in Sakura's eyes and heart, and she hated to have to bring her to this, but for her own sake, she needed to know. The man's eerie red eyes burned in her mind, and she wasn't going to be comfortable unless she knew who she was dealing with.

"Sakura..." she said calmly, "Who was he...? I need to know..."

Sakura's brown eyes lifted from the sheets that covered half of her body to Kaoru's face. As her words came out, she choked on them. Although Kaoru asked her to try to calm down, she knew that the Cherry Blossom just couldn't help it...

"He... he wa... _is _the Master of Fists... Ten years ago... D... Darrell and I... fought him... and we thought we finished him off... He's the fighter... Ryu and Ken warned me about... but after that fight that night... we thought he was dead... but he came back..."

By this time, hot tears began to trickle down her cheeks and she once again lowered her head, her eyes closed tight...

"...and he did this...! Darrell was... trying his hardest, too... and he tried to take him on one-on-one... I shouldn't have let him do that... I should've been with him at the start, but I wasn't... I waited too long... and... he's probably _gone _by now...!"

After a few sobs, Sakura finally broke down, her cries totally uncontrolled. Little to her notice, Kaoru sat on the bed next to her and wrapped an arm around her backside while her other free hand gently wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Now, now, Sakura... Don't think that way... It's not true. You don't need to worry. I gave Darrell the same medicine I gave you. He's resting in another room, so there's no need for those tears. You need to just be glad that you're all right."

Very slowly, Sakura began to reclaim her senses, sniffing loudly as Kaoru brought her close in a hug.

"Everything's going to be ok, Sakura... There's no way I'm going to let that happen to either of you if I'm around."

"Thank... you..."

As the traveler kept comforting Sakura, she ran a thought through her mind.

_Speaking of which, if Sakura's up, that means that..._

"ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

However, she never finished it. Both women gasped at the sound of a sudden yell, half of pain and half of total rage in the distance. Kaoru could pick up every emotion in it as it crossed her ears, and she was certain who it came from.

"That was..." Sakura began.

"So much for resting..." Kaoru said to herself. She then looked over to Sakura and continued, "You stay here in bed and try to relax. I'll see what's the matter. That medicine won't work as well unless you're keeping your body stress to a minimum, so you just do that, ok?"

Kaoru barely caught the nod from Sakura before she hopped off the bed and crossed her arms. Then, just like that, she closed her eyes and channeled her ki, disappearing from Sakura's sight to reappear in another room very similar to the one she just left... only this time, the bed was in disarray, its sheets now trailing towards the floor... eventually leading to the firefly known as Darrell. Currently, he was on his hands and knees facing the wall, Kaoru only able to see his back as he gave the floor below him a solid punch in anger. At first she could only look on as she watched her "brother's" body shake as he cursed...

"Dammit, Akuma! How long are you going to haunt me like this! How long until you're finally satisfied with me? Do you WANT me dead, and you won't rest until that happens, at any cost! Damn...!"

Another fist collided into the wall this time... and this time, Darrell's head hung as the fist slumped down to the ground, his eyes closed from enduring the immense pain that shot through his body.

"And I couldn't finish it... Even with the Onhaisui he treated it as if it was just a paper burn... Ten fucking years... and he gets more powerful in death than I have been training all those years..."

_Darrell..._

Kaoru never saw either of her "siblings" act like this before. It was utterly depressing to see them on the edge like this...

"Bastard..."

Darrell's voice was very low now... almost menacingly... and Kaoru could notice a very familiar... essence building within him... and that's when she was sure she needed to step in now... or else...

"Darrell, stop this..."

At the sound of her voice, Darrell blinked, frozen in place as he could hear footsteps behind him. He groaned a bit as turned around to face Kaoru, who he had no idea was in the room at all until now. However, his eyes weren't really saying that he was pleased to see her. In fact, Kaoru could plainly see the intentions within him... The darkness that she was so familiar with was all so potent in him...

_REVENGE..._

"Darrell, you've got to calm down... You can't let him get to you like this... or else you'll end up even worse... It's just not worth it..."

"Kaoru..."

Kaoru made her way towards him, not stopping until she was kneeling in front of him so that she could make direct eye contact.

"Just take it easy. The medicine I gave you won't work unless you're in a calm state. If you let your anger go, then you won't heal up completely. I understand what you're going through... but take it easy... It's over now... You don't need to worry about Akuma any longer."

Darrell gave a confused look. "You...?"

"I only took a glance at him... Batsu told me that he said he was through with you and Sakura... We don't know why he said that... but considering now, we'd best be glad that you were left alive."

Kaoru then took a pause, recalling those same eyes from that demon locked on her... and then the reactions that Yui was having around him...

_Yet, I think he's just starting with me..._

"Personally... I'm glad that you're up right now."

By the time she finished, Darrell fully calmed down. He fully closed his eyes and sighed heavily, then opened his eyes, staring Kaoru right back in her eyes... making Kaoru blink. This new look in his eyes... It was so... different...

"Darrell...?"

He said nothing, but instead he quickly wrapped his arms around his "little sister" and pulled her close to give her a warm hug. Surprised, Kaoru let out a startled gasp as she could feel her slightly tanned cheeks start to turn red in embarrassment.

"Kaoru," he whispered, "You know... I've known you for 6 years. Sakura and I let you into our home and made you family... and yet, after all the crap we've went through... and even though I called you my little sister, I never ever hugged you. I said 'good luck', 'take care', and stuff like that... but I never said 'I love you.'"

"Uuuh..."

As Darrell closed his eyes and held Kaoru tight, Kaoru was too stunned to speak. As she absorbed the words, she was just... speechless. The more she tried to make sense of all that was happening, to more her cheeks burned.

"It wasn't until now, that I realized that I could've gotten killed... and I still don't quite realize how easily I forget how precious you and Sakura are to me. Sakura was knocked out... and I foolishly tried to take a swing at him... It was the same thing I was trying to prevent her from doing for me. And I probably would be in a hospital or worse if it weren't for you... Thank you..."

"Darrell... Really, you... don't have to say all that..."

"Of course I do," he assured, pulling away to see her face. As he got a good look, he smiled gently.

"Heh... This is probably the first time I've seen you blush, too..."

Kaoru immediately made a face. "Darrell, please!" she belted out, trying her best to toughen up, but her embarrassment was just too much. "You're taking me all out of character here!"

Darrell let out a laugh. "You have got to stop acting like that around family. There's no need for you to put on the 'big, bad, Kaoru" routine. You should know that."

"Yeah, well... I... I have a reputation to maintain..."

"Oh, who's going to know, Kaoru," Darrell joked, holding Kaoru by her warm cheeks as they sat in front of one another on the floor. "It's not like I'm going to blab to everyone in the circuit that you're like this in private. You need to lighten up some."

"Oh, and I guess you're the prime example of light?" Kaoru replied lightly. "Just a few seconds ago you were about to go and search the earth for that guy for revenge. Sure, he's... dangerous, but you know that once you're angry like _that _you're destined to really burn up."

Darrell then gave Kaoru a pouting look. "Oh, so you want to go there, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm taking it there," Kaoru replied smugly.

"Fine then... Then I guess I need to take it HERE then!"

In a jolt Darrell caught Kaoru by surprise by pushing her forward, not hard but just enough to make her fall on her back on the floor. Before she knew what was going on, Kaoru's arms were pinned on each side of her head, making her look at Darrell as he loomed over her with a gleam in his eyes...

"H-hey!" she yelped as she tried to get free, "Wha... what are you doing?"

Darrell only laughed, one of his hands letting go to begin to move towards the bottom of Kaoru's shirt...

And Kaoru merely froze, because she didn't have a clue what was happening at all. In the back of her mind she began to expect the worst... As the shirt went upwards, she began to plan a way to maybe punch him full force in the face, and that desire grew even more potent as Darrell began to lower his hand to her stomach... and...

"HAHAHA! S-stooooop! Y-HEHE! You're-you're ki—EE—killing me!"

"Yeah, you like that, huh?" Darrell asked, wearing a devilish smile as he tickled his "sister", who was immediately dying of laughter.

"N... Y-HAHA! Get _off!_" she half yelled, half giggled, trying to turn around so she could bare it. By now her eyes were closed hard and she was shedding tears from all her laughing.

"Say 'I give' and I'll stop!"

"D... Darrell! HAHA!"

"Say it, 'little sis'!"

"NEVER!"

"Ok! You asked for it!"

Darrell then brought his head down to Kaoru's stomach, placed his mouth directly onto her belly button and did something he hadn't did since he was with his little brother back in New Jersey 14 years ago...

_PHHHHHHHHHHHTTTT!_

"AAAHHH! STOP! I—AHAHA!"

"Say it! Say it or I'll blow again!"

"NOOOOOOOO! HEEHEE!

_BBBBBBFFFFFFFFFFFFTTT!_

"OK, OK! I give! I give!" she finally pleaded on exhausted lungs. "Just stop!"

"Hehe... Ok..."

The firefly finally rose off his "sister" but not before wiping her clean with his sleeve and putting her shirt back in place. Kaoru stayed on her back a while, wiping the tears from her eyes with her fingers. Afterwards she took a few deep breaths to calm down a bit, then sat up, giving Darrell a playful slap on his cheek in the process.

"Why did you _do _that?" she asked, still giggling and with a smile on her face.

"To see you smile is all," Darrell replied honestly. "It makes me feel better when you smile. Plus, I haven't done that in ages. I see my stepfather's tricks still work. Sure didn't know you were ticklish."

"Neither did I... I guess I learn a little bit about myself every day..."

Darrell nodded, then spread his arms wide.

"Come here... Give your 'bro' a hug."

After a good, loving embrace between the 'siblings', Darrell looked towards the door just to see someone turn away from the window. He then smirked.

"Looks like someone was taking notes..." he said quietly to himself.

"What's that?" Kaoru asked.

"Oh, nothing. Come on. Let's go cheer Sakura up. If I know her, she's not doing so well right."

The traveler nodded. "I know. I just came from there... Let's go do that."

Meanwhile, the Cherry Blossom was doing just what the doctor ordered, lying on her back and taking the time to see her surroundings clearly.

_I remember this room... Looks like I'm in one of Karin's guest rooms... I wonder what she's up to..._

After a bit of silence, Sakura sighed and sat up in the bed. She was still in pain but it seemed Kaoru's medicine was working. Not only was the pain going away but she could feel her strength returning. She smirked to herself and began to rise up and out of her bed.

_Sorry, Kaoru, but you know I just can't stand lying down. I need to get active..._

As she touched down on the carpet, she noticed that her sneakers were on the opposite wall along with her light jacket, leaving her in her socks, pants, and undershirt.

_Maybe I'll stretch a little..._

To start off, Sakura outstretched both her arms and clenched her fists. She opened her hands and again, first the left then the right to build some feeling on them. Next was her torso, in which she twisted her hips to loosen that area, too. She worked at it for 30 seconds, then shot her hips forward to lengthen the exercise. Sakura held it for 5 counts, then bent down fully, stretching her back while touching the floor with both hands.

As she counted to ten in her mind, she then got to her knees and sat down fully on the floor.

_Now the legs..._

Sakura spread her legs wide at a 90 degree angle and then leaned her upper body forward, pressing her entire body towards the ground, her hands holding down her ankles. After a count of 15, she then brought her right leg backwards as far behind her as it could go. She then turned her torso the other way and stretched for another 15 seconds before reversing sides.

After all her stretching she sprung up to her feet, the lazy feeling in her body now gone.

_Ok... Enough with the warm-ups. Time to really let loose._

Sakura didn't waste any time. Immediately she pictured a big, shapeless target in her mind, then got into a ready stance. She began with a sharp jab right in front of her, hitting air and her imaginary target. She repeated this again slowly at first, just to get started, then immediately sped up. Her fist moved like a blue as it tagged her target with ease.

"Yah!"

She then went on with a few hard kicks that would have taken someone head clean off its shoulders. By this time, Sakura was in full game, dodging around as if her target was a sparring partner and throwing her own attacks to counter. She got so wrapped into it that she could really feel as if she was really fighting someone. A shapeless opponent in her mind... that suddenly stopped attacking... and jump away from Sakura...

"Nani?" Sakura gasped slowing to a stop to blink. The black shadow that she pictured in her mind was actually in front of her for real and began to take shape of its own. After a few seconds, Sakura could only look forward. Of course this was weird... but at the same time, she knew what this meant. She could feel the surroundings darken a bit and the image started to form clothes, eyes, and a headband. Once everything was finished, Sakura found herself staring at a mirror image of herself, only her image had darker skin and a red iris...

"Well, well," Sakura started, "It's been a while, twin sis."

"Well, duh," the darker Sakura, known as Sakura Satsu, jeered while rolling her eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, being dormant for 4 years makes me really have to rely on other means to get attention... Well, never mind about that."

"So why are you... up?"

Sakura Satsu twisted her mouth and crossed her arms. "Because you're lucky enough to be breathing, let alone up. Akuma's energy... It was so powerful I thought I was going to have to take over... Then you got knocked unconscious and I couldn't do anything after that..."

The lighter Sakura frowned. "Yeah, I know. It felt as if I was fighting a real demon from hell. I don't think Akuma was holding back at all."

"Well, that's why I needed to talk," Sakura Satsu said, frowning herself, "When you fought Akuma, I sensed something... odd..."

"Odd?" Sakura replied, confused.

"Yes, odd. Didn't Akuma seem different to you? Outside of the crazy power he unleashed?"

Sakura paused as she thought back and rewind everything in her head. She did it once... twice... then thrice. However, upon the third time she just shook her head.

"Well, here's what I noticed," the dark Sakura continued. "When he spoke, his choice of words were... more... Well, from what I remember, Akuma never sounded so... confident... Cool... A bit talkative during the fight... He just didn't quite sound like Akuma at certain times."

This caused Sakura to rub the back of her head. "I never picked that up... I barely took notice of it."

"I'm not done. This next one shocked me. Even though Akuma has gotten so powerful under all our noses, I picked out something different. You guys couldn't sense it, but I could, since I'm pure Satsu no Hadou. Whenever Akuma powered up a strong attack, I noticed that his energy wasn't pure, like hidden underneath his original power was something else."

"Steroids, maybe...?" the lighter Sakura half-heartedly joked. However, she knew that this was no joking manner.

"I guess you could say that," Sakura Satsu answered. "Last thing, twin sis, and this is most obvious. Akuma let you _live._ Had that been 10 years ago, you Darrell, and the others would've been dead. That part just baffles me."

Sakura took a pause and then her eyes widened. "Sis, you're right! That is unlike Akuma. I've heard rumors that Akuma practically murdered all that he fought and won against. I don't see how we were so different... no matter how weak he said we were..."

Sakura Satsu's eyes hardened. "Sis, I don't think I need to tell you this, but be careful. Things totally stink right now. Anything can happen. Also, remember that whatever happens to you happens to me since we merged. Keep that into consideration... get it? That gut punch really made me want to throw up."

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, I know. No problem. Don't worry about me. I won't let my guard down from here on out. You just be ready to take over when the time comes."

"It's a deal," the dark Sakura said with a smile. She then turned around and gave her original a wink while giving a form of a salute. "Talk to you later... oh, and sis?"

"Yes, sis?"

"Whenever you want to train... just let me know. I'm just dying for some action, you know..."

"Ok. I'll call you."

At the end of the sentence, Sakura's dark side faded out of view, leaving Sakura all alone again. As she regained focus on her room she sighed and sat on her bed.

_I wonder just what the heck is going on..._

"Sakura?"

The Cherry Blossom's head jerked up at the call of her name and she turned around... and her face brightened to se her husband standing at the doorway, along with Kaoru.

"Ah! Darrell! You're ok!"

"Yeah... How's that for luck?" he asked as Sakura hopped off her bed and made her way to him. The two shared a hug and kiss before Darrell finished, "I should be asking you if you're alright."

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. Still alive and kicking."

"Great. Now that we're both up, let's try to find Karin and the others."

"Good idea, yes, but you don't need to look far for one of them..."

The last sentence came from behind Kaoru. As the three turned around, their eyes grabbed sight of Karin as she stood, back next to the wall in the hallway. Sakura closed her eyes, dropping her head a little, then made eye contact with her friend and rival.

"Karin, I sure owe you big this time..."

Instantly Karin waved it off. "It's ok, Sakura. You don't need to go all sorry on me. I'm just glad that you're up and well..."

However, much to the other three's displeasure, Karin's expression wasn't as cheerful as her words would be noting. "Unfortunately, guys, you aren't the only one with crazy problems..."

"Nani!" Sakura instantly blurted out. "What's wrong this time!"

"Well... I'll let you find out for yourself. Follow me."

As Karin pushed off the wall and began to walk down the hallway, Sakura, Kaoru, and Darrell looked at one another before they followed suit. After only a few steps, Karin stopped in front of a door very similar to that of the one that enclosed the rooms Sakura and Darrell rested in. However, when she opened it, they found out that this door led to the lobby towards the mansion's office. As they stepped inside, they only took a few steps before Sakura, Kaoru, and Darrell froze in shock, their eyes glued to the couches and seats in the lobby.

"_HINATA! KYOSUKE!" _Sakura instantly screamed on the top of her lungs, "What the heck _happened _to you two?"

In the lobby, accompanied with Batsu, Yui, Chun-Li, Ran, and a now conscious Ace, sat Hinata Wakaba and her husband, the orange-haired Taiyo High graduate named Kyosuke Kagami. In front of Hinata stood a small, 6-year-old kid. He was a brown-hair, just like his mother, and went by the name Tai. He, along with his parents, had their clothes battered, only Hinata and Kyosuke were in far worse shape. Tai himself had tears in his eyes, however, he wasn't crying...

Hinata and Kyosuke looked up to see Sakura and the others come over to see if they were ok. Once she was close, both Hinata and Sakura shared deep hug before Sakura said, "Please... Tell me you're ok..."

"Trust me, Sakura... I've seen much better days..." was her friend's response, her voice showing that she was definitely exhausted.

"What happened?" Darrell asked. Before anyone could reply, Karin stepped in to answer that herself.

"Well, while we were tending to you guys, I intentionally missed a call from the Zaibatsu so I can concentrate on warding off calls from the media. It turns out that in addition to that other guy, another dark ki appeared in Tokyo a few moments later..."

"And it didn't show up until he attacked..." Hinata mumbled. "Neither of us was ready at all... Before that, Kyosuke and I were arguing about me heading off with you guys. Kyosuke remembered my last adventure and didn't want to lose me. However, as we were talking, the windows all through the manor blew open... and... and I freaked once I found out who caused it..."

"Who?" Sakura asked, her voice once again going through shock. "Was it Akuma again?"

Hinata shook her head. "No... He... he goes way farther back..." Her focus turned to Batsu, Darrell, then Sakura, then her head hung low, her eyes closed.

"You guys... H... Hyo Imawano is back from the dead..."

An intense shock ran through all three ex-Rival Schoolers, more so in Batsu than anyone else.

"You've gotta be kidding...!" he yelled. "First that freak attacks my friends, now my crazy uncle comes back from the dead?"

Hinata only nodded slowly. "Before... we could even understand what was going on, Hyo did... something... and a huge wave of energy blew all throughout the manor. It was horrible... Everything inside was thrashed... Luckily little Tai was able to be in a place that went under little pressure... Same couldn't be said for us... We me the full force of the attack and passed out. When we came to... we were here..."

Batsu's eyes looked over to Kyosuke, who just looked back at him. They didn't share words, but Batsu's eyes spoke enough.

"Ugh...! I can't believe that this is happening...!"

Batsu then clenched his fists and added, "Don't worry, you two. I'll get to the bottom of things and set things right!"

"You're not the only one..."

Batsu looked next to him to see Darrell looking at his friends as well. His expression was just as intense, and the flames in his eyes started to flare just like they did during the Onhaisui.

"Shadowloo has to be responsible for this somehow... Something in my gut just screams that. What they're doing... is so inhumane... I can't let them get away with this!"

Darrell's hand then went aflame and instantly he snuffed it.

"I swear that Bison's going to fry for this!"

"Right!" Sakura quickly replied. "That freak has ruined my life for the last time! How can I get ahead in life if every few years he returns and makes things worse? It's getting on my last nerves!"

"I'm in, too," Hinata added. "He's gone too far this time around! My little boy could've been killed today! There's no way I'll forgive him for that!"

"Count me in, too," came Karin. "You guys can use all the help you can get. I'm sure the Zaibatsu can be of much use in tracking him down. Also, one more person on the team wouldn't hurt."

Kaoru and Yui looked at one another and nodded, then Kaoru said, "We're in, too. I have a feeling I might be on his hit list as well. If we stay together, we can watch each other's backs."

As all this was going on, Chun-Li and Ace looked on. Chun-Li herself couldn't help but smile. She never seen so much youth gather together to team up to stop something like Shadowloo..

"Ace..." she said quietly, "I think things are going to be much smoother from now on..."

Ace only nodded and together they watched as the Rival Schoolers huddled up to strategize on how to tackle Shadowloo.

**Hong Kong: 11:13 A.M.**

"So..." Yun whispered as his eyes glued onto the woman in front of him, "how do we go about this, eh...?"

"You start, we'll back up," Yang answered.

The tension in the room was thick. At one side of the room stood Shadoloo's newborn "doll", armed at her sides with numerous weapons, and it was clear that Cammy wasn't going to hesitate to use them. In the middle of the room were the Triple Dragons, Yun, Yang, and Yin, willing to defend their turf against its latest threat. Finally in the back were the rest, entire Viper gang, along with the lords of the Chinese underground, all watching and looking over one of their fallen. The sight was rather emotional to say the least... except for one...

"Let's go."

No sooner did the words flow from her lips, Cammy sped forward, her speed enhanced even more so than before. Unfortunately, no one in the room even seen her before, so Yun was caught completely by surprise as she easily got in his face within a blink. In another blink, Yun was knocked clean across the room by an elbow to the face. The 'audience' gasped as they found out that the leader of the Dragons was on the round, just a few centimeters from Haso's deceased grandfather...

"Yun," said Haso, "I might not like you as much as I should... but I'm telling you now. Don't you dare lose to her. She has to pay for was she did..."

Yun rubbed the area Cammy hit with his backhand and refocused his sights on Cammy, who simply stood right between Yin and Yang. However, Cammy's own focus was also on them and both of Yun's siblings knew better than to jump in like a fool without scouting her out...

"Yeah..." Yun replied while standing up, "Don't worry about a thing. We'll take her down."

As he stood fully, he quickly shot off the ground and into the air. Cammy's head jerked upward as she monitored Yun's movements...

_Analyzing... He's doing a Regekishuu..._

"Hoo!"

Yun, at the peak of his jump, came down swiftly with his foot down for a kick. Cammy merely moved backwards to evade. As soon as he landed he put a foot forward, ducked down a bit...

_Dakai..._

...and thrusted both his arms out to his sides. Cammy parried... and countered with a hard side fist...

"CANNON DRILL!"

...and finished with her Cannon Drill. Cammy's special move caught Yun in the ribs, however, this time it was powered by a freaky bluish-purple blaze. The oldest dragon was once again blown back, this time into the wall... and bookcase where Haso stood next to and the force caused several of the books there to fall on top of him.

"Brother!" Yin yelled. "Are you ok?"

Yun only groaned as he sat on the carpet, trying to recuperate. Yin twisted her mouth, and quickly set her sights on Cammy.

"My turn, then..." she whispered. Yang was close enough to hear her and turned to hold her back, but she stepped forward...

"Ha!"

...and her body blurred out, using her Gen'ei Senkou to close in on the doll as fast as she could. However, it wasn't fast enough, for before she could appear, Cammy's head moved towards her side...

_Movement... Gen'ei Senkou._

"I got you now!" the youngest dragon yelled as she formed right next to Cammy, attacking with an elbow of her own. Cammy's body stayed stationary, but her head moved forward to avoid the attack, then rolled backward avoid the following fist. As she did so, Yin kept up, ducking in...

"Hai!"

...and threw her right arm upwards, a streak of light forming from it. Yin's Shurraizan, however as parried by Cammy's arm the moment she stood back up, and the youngest dragon wound up paying for it with a strong kick to the ribs. Yin reeled backwards, nursing her side, and it left her open for a sledgehammer blow right across her cheek, sending her smack into the wall behind her. Before she could make heads or tails of what was happening, a hand clasped strongly against her neck and held her up so that she could look at Cammy wither she wanted to or not...

"It's going to have to take more than a weak sneak attack to catch me off guard, girl..."

"Let go of my sister!"

Cammy instantly did so, letting Yin slump to the floor while holding her neck, and barely got the chance to find out what she was looking at before a shoulder flew right into her stomach, making her double over so that Yun's Tetsuzanko could hit fully, this time her face. Cammy's body found itself colliding with the wall just above Yin, and from there she began to slide down to the floor, Yin having to scramble away to avoid getting used as a landing port. With that, the Triple Dragons regrouped, not letting their eyes off the Shadowloo doll for a second.

"Cammy! Is everything alright?"

"Yes, Raven..."Cammy responded, beginning to reclaim her senses and stand up. "Just a minor... error... I should've seen that attack coming."

"Hmm... Seems as if there's still some kinks to work out in the Project... No matter. You're still running well enough to show them not to mess with us. Forget about the Dragons. We'll save them for a later date. Return to the original plan and bail out ASAP. Accomplish it by any means of force... In fact... I suggest you go straight to the heat of the matter..."

"Roger that..."

"Hey! Don't tell me that little shot was all it needed," Yun called out. "If you're still able to stand up, let's get this on and over with!"

"Heh... Such a loudmouth punk..." Cammy retorted, standing up fully to face everyone in the room, a twisted smirk landing across her face. "Not a bad shot, I give you that... but it seems as if today's not quite the day to fully exterminate you. I've just received new orders..."

"Wait a second! That doesn't mean you're going to get away that easily! You're going to pay for what you've done here!"

"Oh, please... Shut your mouth for once..." Cammy now faced away from the rest of the area, waving off Yun in particular. "In due time you'll realize that I'm a lot stronger than you can ever be... but first priority is always first..."

And with that, Cammy's right hand raised into the air... and her fingers snapped.

"Its time..." she whispered into her communicator, and instantly, the windows seemed to literally explode, making the Dragons shield for cover. The moment the sound of glass stopped and the Lee Dragons could recall what was happening, several other people in universal black uniforms jumped in through the openings caused a few moments ago... each one armed with a firearm and now aiming right towards them...

"DUCK!" Yun yelled out, hitting the deck behind a nearby sofa, Yin and Yang following suit. The next few seconds were filled with nothing but straight horror as the air popped in the sound of guns firing at will, dust and yells flying all over the place. Yun kept his eyes shielded by his cap while Yin merely closed her eyes tight as well as her ears, but Yang just looked on, his face growing pale as he saw the Vipers and the Lords of the Chinese Underground get picked off one by one...

"Oh, man..." was all he could mutter, just before the yell from the lead woman echoed through the air.

"That's enough! Hold your fire!"

The bullets stopped flying, and steadily, the other two dragons slowly brought their eyes to see what Yang already saw... and Yin began to open her mouth to scream at the sight of the blood-filled wall as the entire room stood decimated by the hailstorm of gunfire, but Yun held her mouth closed with his hand.

"Taking an analysis..." Cammy said to herself, scanning the perimeter for any source of life, then... "All dead. Mission accomplished. Miss Raven, we're heading back to base."

In her ear, the leader of Shadowloo clouted, "Yes. Well done. Even when not operating at 100 efficiency, you get the work done with deadly precision... Now... Come back to me. I shall see personally where you need to be fixed at..."

"Affirmative..." she whispered, then said out loud. "We're out of here."

Then, the air began to pick up as the sound of helicopter blades blew through the air, and as the three Dragons peeped from behind the chair, they caught the sight of a black helicopter come into view from above, the wind caused from the blades whipping up the debris that was laying around in the room. The backup squad instantly stood down and jumped out of the window and into the open door that was waiting on them, leaving Cammy to begin to do the same. However, she stopped, merely turning to face the chopper, then looked back to see the Dragons staring back at her in disbelief...

"Now that that's out of the way... I think I'll be seeing you three VERY soon..." she said in a sadistic tone. "Trust me, there'll be no firearms next time... It'll just be me and the three of you, and when its all said and done, you'll be part of US. Ta ta for now, Dragons..."

"WAIT!" Yun yelled, now scrambling out from his hiding place and beginning to run towards the assassin, holding his cap as he ran, but before he could reach her, Cammy simply gave a mocking salute and jumped out the window and into the open port, which shut as soon as she was inside. And, as if it was nothing, the helicopter just picked up its speed and seemed to jet off, as if it was a jet plane...

"DAMMIT!" the eldest Dragon cursed, throwing his cap down into the ground and clenching his hands. "I can't believe they got away just like that!"

Yang didn't reply, instead just looking in the sky in which the helicopter flew off at, while Yin was too busy looking on in horror at the scene that was the entire population of the room minus them being on the floor, shot to death. Even Haso was lying on top of his grandfather facedown, blood on the back of his shirt...

"I... I think I'm going to be sick..." was all she muttered, just before she felt something come up... and, before Yun could even stop her, she leaned over and threw up, leaving him to just mutter a "Geez" under his breath, putting a hand on his face.

"Brother..." Yang began, his voice as calm as he could make it in this situation, "we've... got to get out of here..."

After a while to take some deep breaths, Yun sighed and bent down to pick up his hat, brush it off, and place it back onto his head. "Yeah, you're right... Even though... you know... things turned out like this... we can't just stand here and let these guys get away with this. We got to pay them back for threatening our turf like that... Yin!"

Yin, in response, coughed and gagged in response, trying to get herself back together. She lifted her head from the floor, shook it clean, and nodded, while not facing her brothers.

"I want you to do something..."

"What...?"

"I want you to go and get Hoimei and Shaomei... Tell them to pack up. They're coming with us. If they knew us that well... we can't afford to let them stay here. It's too dangerous. They might try to target them."

"S... sure..."

"Yang and I will head back to the restaurant and close up early... Meet us back at our house... We're going to try to leave today."

Once again Yin nodded, and stood up, abet a bit shaky, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"You know..." she muttered, "with the Lords dead... the underground's going to be like hell on earth... No order... Gangs are going to try to take over the city..."

"Not if this other place does it first," Yun responded. "That gives us more reason to find them and bring them down before they do that. Come on. Let's go."

The siblings nodded in response and began to walk out the room, but not before paying their respects to the ones lying dead in the room. Yin, in particular, gave Haso one last good look before she closed her eyes and let loose a tear for him, then ran out of the room... just missing his left arm twitch... and start to move... and with that, Haso lifted his head, just in time to see the door to the room close, and all he could do was stay where he was, unable to put words into sentences to express his shock and grief in the situation...


	10. Moving Out

_**CHAPTER 10: MOVING OUT  
**_

**Shanghai, China: 8:02 A.M.**

"Mei-Liiiiiiiiing! Come on! Stop staring off into space and let's go!"

That voice, along with the addition of a horn being honked repeatedly, was enough evidence to Mei-Ling. Although she swore that she was hallucinating before, now there was no mistake.

Fen was here.

At her house...

_On time..._

It was going to snow today.

On any other occasion, Mei-Ling would have to call Fen a few dozen times to make sure that she was awake, then wait an hour or so for her friend to wash up, get clothes on, eat (which was optional), then get on her vehicle of choice, her motorcycle, and travel an additional 5 to 20 minutes, depending on traffic and other little stops she might make from her home to Mei-Ling's. However, today marked the first time _ever _in their friendship that she was on time. 8 A.M. sharp. As Mei-Ling stood on the front stairs of her home, her traveling bag hoisted over her shoulder, she couldn't help but feel surprised.

After all, she did just spend a good two minutes just staring at her friend, who was positioned on her motorcycle below the stairs, the only movement between them was Fen's mouth and her hand, which was pounding on the motorcycle's horn the entire time.

Finally, after accepting that fact, Mei-Ling shook her head hard, and began her descent towards her buddy. As she got closer, in the meantime, Fen rubbed the back of her head, giving her friend a good look.

"Hey, Mei," she said, "what took ya? You just sort of zoned out up there... The oxygen up there too thin?"

Mei-Ling just let out a laugh, although her face was red in embarrassment, and replied, "No, no, no... I was just... thinking I just saw something odd..."

Fen smirked. "Oh, really? Did it have anything to do with me?"

"...maybe."

"Yeah, well, I thought so," was the light-haired woman's response, turning around as her friend now sat safely behind her. "You know, I'll be the first to tell you that it isn't polite to stare, since apparently your father seemed to have forgotten to tell you that."

Fen then smiled as Mei-Ling stuttered before responding with, "Ok, ok, Fen. You can stop it now. Its time we got serious. We need a destination and wherever we go will need to be in our budget plans. I did a little research last night on places we should check out."

"Really? Well, give me the scoop, will ya?"

"Hold on a second..."

Mei-Ling then brought her bag to her lap and pulled out a paper that was popping out the hole. She then spread it wide to reveal it as a world map, with several areas marked with red circles.

"Ok, this is what I got," the older woman replied. "The internet had some helpful things news-wise. Shanghai, as I've been saying before, isn't the only pace where this organization's been targeting. In Hong Kong, it seems as if people found traces of the leaders of the Chinese underground were murdered and in Tokyo the winner of the last World Warrior tournament was beaten by a really powerful psycho at her job—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait a second, Mei! You mean to tell me that _the _Sakura Kasugano; the one that beat the freak Kairi, got beat by one of those things!"

Mei-Ling only nodded. "Hey, when my father was under the influence, I almost felt my defense wear out myself, but this person seemed really focused on his job..."

Fen shook her head upon hearing the news. "Wow... I can't believe it... I mean, I'm not really focused on that circuit like I am for the Heavenly Fist tournament... but still..."

"Well, Fen, there are other events related to this organization but I feel as if these two are the bigger stories. So, where do you want to start? Hong Kong or Tokyo? Of course, Hong Kong is closer but Tokyo... is practically devastated right now. We're bound to find more clues in Japan, but it'll take a while to get there."

The light-haired woman put a hand on her chin for about a second, quickly analyzing the situation and its options, then, to Mei-Ling's surprise, she put the petal to the metal, the motorcycle engine giving off a strong roar as it warmed up.

"Fen? What are you--?"

"Better hold on, Mei! We're destined for Tokyo!"

And with Mei-Ling's long "WHOAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Fen kicked off the brake and the two screeched off the curb and shot down the street. As she got up to speed, Fen let out a yell of joy as she swerved through cars heading along or against her, just barely avoiding breaking the speed limit. While the younger of the two focused on driving, heading fast towards the highway towards the outskirts of Shanghai, Mei-Ling couldn't help but think about the other destination.

_Hong Kong..._

The words reminded her of an event back when she was younger...

_Flashback_

"_Father? Where are you taking me?"_

"_Mei-Ling, I would like for you to meet a special friend of mine. He has been in town for quite a while now and we have been meeting in person since then. I told him about you and he is interested in meeting you. Of course, I could've told Shun to come instead, but he's with his friends, plus your little sister Jiao isn't quite ready yet. I'm confident that you'll understand once we get there."_

"_Oh, ok."_

_I was 9 years old at the time, a year before I met my best friend, Fen at the exhibition. The day was rather nice with clear skies and few clouds. Today was a special day to my father, for he had been preparing me for a few weeks for this meeting. It was the first time I was actually taken along to meet this stranger that my father spoke to. Of course, he was only a stranger to me, for I only heard of him though my father's lips. I only knew his name well._

_Gen._

_As of now we were at a park, an area where a bench and a tree were all that rested inside it, save for an elder sitting on the bench. He wore a purple martial arts robe with matching pants and black shoes. His head was riddled with white, aged hair, and as I looked at him, I got the feeling that this was definitely the man that my father spoke of._

_However, sitting on the bench was someone I wasn't expecting; a young girl around my age. She had black hair worn short while I, at the time, had brown hair done in two large braids. She wore clothes somewhat matching the old man's, only with a yellow color to it and her eyes were on the ground, not even noticing that my father and I were approaching. Despite that, the old man was sharp, and looked up to my father as soon as he came close._

_  
"I see you managed to get here early," my father opened up. "So who is our little visitor over here?"_

"_This girl so happens to be my granddaughter," says Gen, his hands hidden in his long sleeves, bound together on his lap. "I take it that this is your daughter that you spoke of...?"_

_I look up to see my father nod. "Yes. Her name is Mei-Ling, just one of my three kids that I raised in our family's secret arts."_

_The elder now proceeded to stroke his long beard. "Ah... I see..."_

_As he looked at me with wisdom eyes, inspecting me, I just looked back at him, my focus only on him. I, in turn, tried to figure him out. He seemed to be keen in martial arts like our family was... but somehow he seemed... out of the ordinary..._

"_She does seem to show much promise... She is a fine girl... I'll tell you this; the next generation of warriors will be filled with strong women like her. My granddaughter has also been coming up quite well."_

"_I see..." my father responded. "You are teaching her as well."_

_By this time, my focus laid on Gen's granddaughter, who was also looking wordlessly back at me. She seemed a bit shy, for her eyes were a bit adrift as she looked at me. I began to say something, but Gen cut me off._

"_I see that you are about to open up to my granddaughter..." he said. "Well, why don't you also show me just how your father has been raising you up in Jeet Kune Do at the same time?"_

_I blinked. Just what did he mean by that?_

_The elder looked at his granddaughter, who looked back at him and nodded. She then hopped off the bench and started to walk towards me, my father replacing her on the bench. As she walked towards me, I could see that her eyes were changing now from timid to something more..._

"_Mei-Ling, is it?" she spoke while coming towards my side, her hands calmly placed behind her back._

"_Yes." I responded._

"_Well, it's nice to meet you. So you learned from your father like I have..."_

"_Yes, I have."_

_The girl in front of me nodded, then brought her hands from her back, taking a step back, and assumed a fighting stance. I was at first a bit confused, since my mind was still a bit on the wondering side, but she soon cleared things up._

"_I think it'll be a good idea to get to know each other this way."_

"_I agree..." I responded, giving the girl a formal bow before jumping back and into my own fighting stance. For a while we didn't move at all, the wind beginning to pick up as we focused all our senses on each other. Then, before she could move, I did so._

"_So what's your name?" I asked while stepping forward with a poking punch with my left. The girl used a hand to block it, then backed off to avoid my following punch. I then jumped forward to close the gap with a swift kick, but she managed to grab it with her hands._

"_Yin Lee," she replied. After that, I used her hands to flip off, Yin moving her head back to avoid my attack. As I landed, she moved in close with her own hand strike towards my chest. I knocked it away with a hand, then retaliated with my own fast punch with the same hand. Yin moved to the side, then thrusted forward with a harder strike, this time towards my throat. I repeated her action, spinning while dodging, then attacked with another side kick, which she avoided by rolling forward along with her attack._

_From here we turned to face each other again, Yin now the one to attack._

"_How old are you?" she asked, throwing along with that a hopping kick to my face._

"_9," was my response, slightly moving my head backwards, then began throwing out a few quick jabs that managed to connect as Yin turned her back to me. Before I could add on something stronger, she ducked down, her back still towards me, and pushed off the ground, her foot catching me in the jaw strong. I felt my body pop off the ground and into the air before I fell on my back. After a few seconds I sprung up and ready again._

"_Nice one, Yin."_

"_Don't get too excited. I'm not through yet. By the way, I'm 8."_

"_Do you live near here?"_

"_I live in Shanghai, just like you do."_

"_That's good."_

_I then approached her while spinning once, my leg coming out to kick at her legs. Yin was caught off guard, expecting a high attack, and it made her ankles clash together. From here I lifted my leg up to enter a crane-like stance, then..._

"_Ha, ha, ha, ha... EYAH!"_

_As fast as most people could blink, I kicked at Yin's head fast five times, the last one I spun once to get more power into it. The attack quickly knocked Yin off her feet and to the grass. I held my leg up back in my neutral stance and waited for Yin to sit up, my ears managing to hear the elders talk next to us._

"_So you taught her more than just one fighting style... Impressive for such a young girl."_

"_Actually, our family's style is all-in-one. The crane is one stance in which we just call a stance switch."_

"_Hmmm... Quite a tactic... So how many does she know?"_

"_A few. As she gets older you can expect that number to grow. The crane just happens to be her favorite."_

"_Your attack was pretty slick, I give you that," Yin said while standing up, "but I doubt your defense is good while on one leg... Here I come!"_

_Then, as she finished her sentence, Yin blurred out of sight, and in an instant, I noticed that she was right in my face, preparing to strike at me. However, I was prepared. As her hand moved up to strike at my stomach, I moved my knee up to block it, then quickly counter with a straight kick. She let out a "whoa!" as she moved her arm out of the way. I followed up with a lower kick to her legs again, but Yin moved her leg up and planted it in my chin. Once again my body lifted off the ground, but this time, Yin jumped to follow me and give my body a light jab with her hand before giving a much harder twin kick._

_It took a while for my body to touch the ground, and it threw off my timing to roll to my feet. From here, however, I was able to roll to the side and stand up._

"_Nothing a little practice won't fix," I said out loud with a smile. Yin smirked herself and decided to keep the pressure on with a swiping hand strike, a streak of light following it. It was a quick attack and I opted to just block it. Following this attack, Yin ducked down to try to give a kick to my legs. At this I did a quick hop and returned with a kick to her head, making her fall back again, off balance. I capitalized by ducking down a bit, tripping her up with a sweep, then spun again and finished the move with a hard kick. Once again my attack connected and Yin was sent spiraling to the ground and I knew once I laid eyes on her that my last attack dazed her. She groaned as she slowly stood up, using her hands for support._

"_It seems as if your girl specializes in strong kicks..." came Gen's voice in my mind as I attacked again with a jumping crosskick to Yin's head, her body reeling in that direction._

"_Mmm," was my father's response as I followed up by turning my back to her, throwing my leg back for a sweep to her legs. Yin now was clearly getting overwhelmed by my attacks, but at the time I wasn't really thinking about her predicament. I was only sure that my attacks were connecting at full force no questions asked._

"_She's been taught well. A very balanced amount of attacks..."_

_I then spun once again, bringing my heel up to give an overhead kick attack, but, to my surprise, Yin managed to duck in her awkward, whiplash condition, and as I kicked out, her leg slammed into my cheek. I cried out as soon as I felt it, because I wasn't prepared for her to stretch her leg out like that. My body spun in recoil and I had to place my hands on the grass to prevent from falling down all the way. I blinked, trying to regain my focus, then the elders keep making comments._

"_Yin's not so bad, either. She sure knows how to avoid at the least expected times and counter."_

"_It's her strongest suit. It shall make her quite the opponent later as she improves."_

_As I got up fully to meet Yin, I made sure to keep that in mind. For the third time we met eye to eye, me going into my neutral stance again while Yin smiled at me, doing the same._

"_You're pretty good, Mei-Ling. It's fun to finally see a girl that I can relate to."_

_I nodded. "Why is that?"_

"_Well... I like to fight because when I get older I want to be a strong woman. Living with my aunt made me realize how narrow-minded girls are in this city while the boys get all the recognition. Once I get older, I'm going to show the world that a girl can do whatever a boy can, even better."_

"_That's a pretty nice goal."_

"_So why do you fight, Mei-Ling?"_

"_...to retain the honor my family holds... and to show off my brother. He's such a pain, I swear I'll have to bop him sooner or later."_

"_Does he look down on you?"_

"_Yes."_

"_You see? That's what I'm going to stop. Boys are so full of themselves... but I'm going to change that. Girls like you and me are going to turn this city and world around. I always dream about it when I go to sleep at night."_

"_So do you think that being a strong fighter will be enough?"_

"_Why don't you see for yourself?"_

_With that, Yin stepped forward, bringing her arm towards her, and lowered her body as she approached. I stood on guard and blocked a swipe of her arm, then another strike, then she stood up to give me an elbow to the face. I saw this coming, responding by catching the elbow with my hands while moving forward and kicking at her legs, making her say something inaudible as she fell on her face. Instantly I brought my leg up to try to stomp on her fallen body, but she moved her body up fast, narrowly dodging while flipping backwards to her feet. She then dashed in, and I started to block again, but I was fooled, since Yin instantly reared back. I let my guard down for a second, but I paid for that, for Yin shoved her shoulder forward into my chest with quite a bit of power, stunning my body for her to add on the knockdown fist. The moment I hit the ground again, she jumped into the air, then let out a yell as she shot back down with a kick._

"_Hai!" I shouted while flipping myself, dodging her attack just like she did mine. Once we were firmly settled on the grass, we met each other with a barrage of melee attacks, moving fast enough to meet the level of lower class fighters in martial arts tournaments. We both attacked and blocked with such pace that we moved like the wind, formless but swift, until we both attempted kicks to our stomachs. The attacks both hit at the same time and we both lost balance for a bit, but we quickly recovered, Yin shooting forward with a yell. I waited as she attempted another hand strike, but I spun around quickly to try to counter with a hard roundhouse kick to the head. It turns out that Yin just barely ducked my attack, her own attack having to be aborted to do so, and then we both spun around to attack again..._

_...and then the action stopped, the wind coming back across the park. For quite a while we both held our positions, Yin's hand, taking up the stance of an upside-down spear hand, stopped just centimeters away from my throat, while I had my knee just a few centimeters away from her face. After a few long still moments, she spoke._

"_You're pretty strong..."_

"_Same to you."_

"_Maybe next time we'll be able to really go at it."_

"_Perhaps. This was just a demonstration after all..."_

"_Next time I'll have a lot more in store for you, so don't you dare think we'll be done. Just do me a favor."_

"_What would that be?"_

"_I want for you to get stronger. I just know that the two of us will show just how strong women can be."_

"_You can count on it."_

"_Very excellent show, girls."_

_We both then relaxed, letting out loud breaths as we faced our fathers from the bench. As we then showed each other our respects, I was certain that we would meet again. However, after that day we didn't meet again. Then, years later, I found out that she participated in the Street Fighter 4 tournament and moved to Hong Kong. In my mind, I wished her the best of luck. However, I'm certain that we would really meet..._

_End flashback_

"Hey, Mei. What are you zoning out about now?"

Mei-Ling gasped as she blinked, finding herself now on the highway that Fen was driving towards. She didn't notice that her reminiscing had made her forget about where they were going, and once again she stammered.

"Oh, it's nothing. I was just remembering something from way back."

"Well, wake up. I'm on the highway right now, so I'm going to need for you to sort of look behind me for idiots that might try to rear-end me."

"Ok."

Yep. For sure Fen wasn't lying. The two girls were speeding, going roughly 60, down one of Shanghai's most busy roadways. The wind was pretty fierce, whipping at anything that wasn't clamped down, be it their hair and clothes or the strings on Mei-Ling and Fen's bags. As Mei-Ling looked behind her for incoming traffic, Fen decided to speak.

"So do you have a plan?"

"Plan?"

"Yeah. For when we get to Tokyo."

"Yes. Well first we can try to track down Sakura or anyone related to her to try to fix up anything they know about these weird people and if they don't know, then we can—"

"That's highly unlikely..." Fen interrupted. "Remember when she and a few others were going around on a crime spree for those same people? I'm pretty sure they will know SOMETHING, and trust me, I'll get something out of them, even if I have to beat it out of them to do so."

Mei-Ling was shocked. "Fen! How can you? They don't even know us! How do you think that sounds? Going overseas just to demand and force answers from her and she's hurt from that attack?"

"Yeah, well... she won't have to hide anything from us unless she still works for them."

Mei-Ling gave her friend a blank look. "Fen, I'm pretty sure working at a high school is pretty domestic enough..."

"We can't be too sure, can we?" she asked while looking back at her friend.

"Fen, have a little logic, will you? I heard that she was part of the reason that this organization was brought down before."

"I'm not going to rule out that possibility, Mei-Ling, but if it makes you feel better, I won't attack them..."

"That's more like it..." the older woman sighed.

"...unless I have to."

And she sighed again, this time in frustration. "Fen!"

"What?"

Mei-Ling began to scold her friend, but that quickly stopped once Fen's motorcycle passed a truck... and at the corner of her eyes she picked something moving towards them fast, changing lanes...

"FEN! WATCH THE SIDE!"

This time, Fen hesitated, spinning around and looking towards her side... then steered her cycle to the left, moving off the road and to the curb, narrowly missing the second motorcycle. From here, Fen quickly hit the brakes, the vehicle kicking up a load of dust as it slowed to a complete stop and from there, silence, for both girls could feel their heart beat hard and up towards their throats, preventing speech.

"Fen...?" Mei-Ling asked breathlessly.

"Yes, Mei...?" Fen responded while slumping up against the handlebars.

"You have _got _to watch where _you're _going..."

"...ok... but still...! Wait..."

Fen blinked once she looked forward, noticing that the motorcycle that she nearly collided with was a few meters in front of her on the curb as well, its driver now getting off it. From here she could see that he was a blond, but other than that she couldn't see anything else.

"Fen?"

"Look... Whoever that is... is coming this way."

Mei-Ling blinked herself and looked over her friend to see that person indeed approach them, and, for some reason, in the pit of her stomach, Mei-Ling could pick up something odd with this person... As he got closer, Fen herself jumped off the bike and started to face him.

"Look, I don't want any trouble," she started. "I wasn't watching the road and..."

Suddenly she stopped, getting a look at the young man in front of her. This person was obviously American, with a red jacket and black undershirt, and a red iris in his eyes. However, his appearance was rather... rather...

"Fen...?" Mei-Ling asked while coming to her side. "What's wrong?"

Fen, however, quickly found herself with her mouth open, her eyes resembling anime hearts, and a huge blush on her face.

"Wow... What a hunk..."

"...Fen...?" Mei-Ling said again, this time sweat-dropping. However, the only response was that of a dreamy sigh. The blond, due to this, was a bit thrown off his game, expecting something... different than this, and in a way, he guess he couldn't be quite as mad as he expected.

"Um... yeah..." he began. "Well, I take it from that... that you two are alright?"

"Uh-huh..." Fen responded, leaning over closer to him, making him sweat-drop himself. "I'm just fine..."

"Say... you look... familiar..." Mei-Ling stepped in. "That jacket... and eyes... You... You're..."

Then her eyes went wide with realization. There was no mistake about it.

"No... You... You're Rock Howard, aren't you? From the King of Fighters circuit?"

The young man in the red and black nodded, leaving both girls in utter disbelief.

"Ohmigod!" Fen shrieked. "I can't believe I almost ran you over! I'm sooooooooooooo sorry! You sure you're alright?"

Rock nodded again. "I'll live."

"Just what are you doing so far away from the U.S. and Southtown?" Mei-Ling asked. At this question, Rock paused a bit before answering.

"I'm on my way to Tokyo. I've got some business to handle over there..."

"Business, huh...?" Fen murmured, now shaking off her daze and trying to concentrate. "Funny thing. We were just on our way there..."

This caused Rock to raise an eyebrow. "Really...?"

"Yeah. You know... I don't think I'd be quite a bad idea if we joined up and traveled together. Heck, we're going the same way, and while we're at it, we can get to know you better..."

As she ended, Fen leaned forward in a flirtish way, almost until she was looming over Rock, and once again the blond sweatdropped, trying his best to stay humble.

"Heh... thanks for the offer... but I don't think it'll work out..."

"Awww... come on..." the light-haired girl pleaded, now sprouting puppy eyes as if she was on the verge of crying. "You're so mean... Not letting two young girls like us stay with such a strong young man like you..."

"Aaaaahhh..." By this time Rock was growing very hesitant. "Well... alright... I guess... I can let you come on with me... Can you... you know... sorta let me breathe now...?"

Fen's smile could literally go from ear to ear. "Oooooo! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She then turned around, sprouting a bit of a devilish look, and gave Mei-Ling a smirk. "See that charm? _That's_ how Fen hitches a free ride... Nice luck, huh? Bumping into him...? This trip's gonna be sweet...!"

Mei-Ling just put a hand on her face and shook her head. "I can't believe you would do that..."

Fen gave a giggle before fixing her face and giving Rock a straight look this time. "So, how about we hit the road, eh? The sooner we get on the plane the better!"

Rock shrugged in response. "Sure, if you say so. Get on your bike and follow me."

"Sure! No problem!"

Fen then spun around and began to walk with Mei-Ling to get back on their ride, but just as they reached it...

"Oh, and if you think I'm paying your fare, then you've got another thing coming."

Instantly Fen's face went pale and she stopped in her tracks, as if she heard the wail of a banshee, and Mei-Ling couldn't stop laughing.

"I guess that wasn't part of the plan, now, was it now, Fen?" she teased, and Fen just hung her head.

"Oooooohhhh... he's good..."

"Yep!" Mei-Ling answered. "This trip's definitely going to be quite a blast, that's for sure."

**Tokyo, Japan: 8:30 A.M.**

"Hmmm... it seems as if we're all set. Everyone's ready and packed... I say we bail out now while we got the chance."

Batsu hopped down from the steps of the Kanzuki Complex and landed where the others stood below. The morning was pretty cool in temperature but still fair, and it was perfect flying weather, which was great, considering that Karin was having everyone travel by means of her private plane. The heir of the Zaibatsu wasn't present with the others in the ground; instead she was already on-board, getting the final kinks out of her schedule to be able to make this trip possible. Meters away from the takeoff site, Hinata was kneeling in front of her son, who was also accompanied by one of Karin's maids and Shibizaki.

"...and I want you on your best behavior while you're staying here," Hinata instructed. "Don't do anything that I wouldn't do in there. Ms. Kanzuki's mansion is just as big as ours and you don't want to get into trouble. Understand?"

Little Tai merely nodded wordlessly, giving his mother a warm hug.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," the mother reassured sweetly.

"Ok, mom," Tai replied, Hinata giving him a kiss on the cheek afterwards. After that the maid ducked down and began to lead Tai into the mansion while Hinata stood up and closed her eyes a bit, focusing on what could possibly lie in store for her later.

"Are you ready to go?"

Hinata turned around to face Kyosuke, who was coming up from behind her, and nodded. "Yes... Let's get out of here."

Meanwhile, while Kyosuke and Hinata began their way to the port, Batsu hot on their heels, Darrell was staring at the skies over Tokyo solo, his hands in his pockets.

_The hunt's on, Bison... I don't know what you're planning this time, but it's not going to work. We're coming after you and we're also going to stop you._

"By yourself again, uh?"

Darrell gazed over his shoulder and caught the sight of his wife, Sakura, walking up towards him, Yui and Kaoru a few inches behind her and still carrying their possessions with them.

"Yeah..." was all the young man replied with.

"Don't worry yourself about getting at Bison," Sakura reminded, standing next to him to get a view of the city they were about to leave in a few moments. "We'll get him in due time. We just need to find him first and figure out what he's up to."

This was responded with a sole nod, and Sakura knew that her words were going in but the computer in Darrell's brain wasn't analyzing them. After a moment to frown at him, the Cherry Blossom faced Kaoru and Yui, who were just looking on, and then jerked a thumb towards Darrell as if to say, "Watch this." The 'little sister' blinked with a confused look on her face, just before she spun back around to attend to her husband one more time.

"Come on..." she said, her tone turning low and even a hint playful. "Relax, will ya?"

"Yeah, I know I should, Sakura. It's just that there's so much crazy stuff happening and its worrying me. You heard what happened in Hong Kong last night. That's right in the Lee Dragon's area, and I heard that people all over Japan are going nuts as well as the rest of the world. Heck, we could've bit the big one yesterday. Stuff like that really sticks... to... mind... Sa... ku..."

Darrell couldn't finish his thought, for instantly his body froze and his face heated up in a hot blush as Sakura was busy bringing his mind back to earth with a kiss to his cheek. Then, after a bit of stuttering from her spouse, Sakura let it go, holding onto Darrell by his hand.

"Remember what I said... Relax... All that thinking and rage is going to fry your mind and body and you'll be no good once we do find Bison. Until the time comes, try to enjoy the trip, ok?"

"Ok, Sakie..." Darrell replied kindly, giving a deep breath and exhale before turning around to face the other couple. "I think it's about time that we took off. I bet Karin's waiting on us as we speak."

"You're darn right I've been waiting! The plane's all set. It's time to ship out!"

As the foursome's focus went around to face Karin, who held her hands on her hips, the wind in the remote area began to pick up a little bit and the sound of turbine engines filled the air. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was causing that.

"Hinata, Batsu, Kyosuke and the Interpol agents are already on the plane. Oh, and I forgot to mention, it seems as if Ran brought along one more person to accompany us on this adventure."

"Just who could that be?" Sakura asked.

Karin just shook her head, her golden locks being swept in the breeze. "I think I'll let you figure that out once you actually get on the plane. Now come on! I didn't clear out a bunch of meetings off my schedule to just stand around and admire the sky."

"Ok, ok! I get the picture," the blossom sighed, facing the others. "You heard the kind woman. Let's get a move on before she leaves us."

"Yeah, sure thi—"

Kaoru then stopped abruptly, leaving everyone else thrown off.

"What's wrong, Kaoru?" Darrell asked while walking towards his 'little sister'. However, as he got close, she put an arm out to repel him.

"Wait a second..." she muttered. "I'm sensing something... Something's... not right..."

"Well...?" Sakura lead on, yet the only thing Kaoru did was close here eyes to concentrate. Yui did the same as well, and the others looked on as they tried to zero in on Kaoru's disturbance...

_...guys...! Guys...! Come on! I know you hear me! I'm getting murdered here...! I could... sure use... the help right about now...! AH! SON OF A--_

Then Kaoru's eyes shot wide open in shock.

"Mitsumi!" she exclaimed out loud, startling the others. For a while the name didn't ring a bell, but after a short while Sakura remembered it.

"Mitsumi...? Yao Mitsumi? That Chinese girl that was with you during the last tournament?"

"Just what the heck are you guys talking about?" Karin asked, but Kaoru had no intentions on explaining.

"Listen, you guys go on without us. This is an emergency. We've got to help her out. It sounds like she's in real danger now."

"But wait a second! I don't under—"

"Darrell, don't worry," Yui interrupted, now drawing close to his wife. "We'll be back ASAP. We'll call you once we're done."

"But..."

The dark-skinned fighter couldn't finish that, because with that quote Yui held hands with Kaoru as she closed her eyes herself and in a sudden gust of wind, her body, along with Yui's, blurred out of sight and disappeared completely. For a while, the three just stared at the empty space between them... and suddenly Sakura let out a laugh.

"That's Kaoru, all right... Always disappearing _snap,_ just like that."

"Yeah..." Darrell commented, now beginning to walk out towards the plane. "You heard her. No use waiting on her. Let's bail."

Karin merely sighed at that. "It's about time... I was wondering if you guys would stop stalling like that."

As that was going on, back on the plane, the rest of the group were all settled and ready for takeoff, merely waiting on Sakura, Darrell, and Karin to board. Chun-Li herself was just busy looking at the scene the just unfolded through the mirror on her left, and once it was over, she sat back in her seat.

"Looks as if those two had some other business to attend to," Ace commented. Chun-Li only nodded.

"Say, Hinata..." she began, now directing her attention to the woman across the aisle from her. "Is Kaoru always like that?"

"Nn? Oh, yeah. Definitely. She's pretty busy, and with that mind link she shares with people she's always going out whenever something important jumps up. Trust me. When she's ready to join us again she'll be here."

Before Chun-Li could accept that information, another voice cut her off from behind.

"Hey, everyone! Morning to all! Man, I'm so stoked for this trip I can't contain myself! This is gonna be so awesome!"

Everyone in the room looked behind them just in time to see Ran come from the back storage section of the plane, a smile so big on her face it was almost going ear to ear.

"Well, don't get too excited, Ran," Batsu said. "We're not going on a field trip you know. This is business."

Ran immediately shot Batsu a look. "Like I didn't know that. That's why I brought along an old friend of ours..."

"Old friend...? Hinata asked, now giving Ran her undivided attention. The reporter nodded and then moved to the side...

"AH! Akira!" Hinata shouted out while literally jumping out of her seat. "It's been ages!"

Behind Ran was another young woman, not a year older or younger than Hinata, who was donning normal street clothes and brown hair that reached onto her shoulders. Her eyes, normally soft and a bit shy, instantly turned their tone once Hinata literally ran over to hug her. The newcomer couldn't help but let out a laugh as she welcomed her friend's embrace.

"I guess some things never change..." she commented.

"What are you doing here?" the Taiyo graduate asked, now pulling away a bit to give Akira some space. "I mean, its nice to see you, but why in the world would you want to come with us?"

Akira paused a bit before answering the question, saying unevenly, "Well, after hearing what happened to Sakura and Darrell yesterday and after Ran called me last night about you and Kyosuke, I just couldn't help but feel worried about you guys. Also, my brother's been away for longer than he normally does on his trips... So I decided to head out and join you to help out... and to try to find out where my brother's at."

"Oh..." the shorter-haired woman returned, letting go of Akira. "Daigo's missing..."

Then, something hit Hinata right then and there, getting flashbacks of the incidents that happened while all the Rival Schoolers were busy with the problems surrounded by Justice High...

"Say..." she began slowly, looking at Batsu and Kyosuke before returning to Ran and Akira. "You don't think... _he_ would know about—"

"I wouldn't even think about it, Hinata," Batsu returned sharply. "If what Darrell told me about this Bison guy is true, then..."

"Then, what?" Akira interrupted. "Who's Bison?"

"I'll tell you once we take off..." Chun-Li answered, not quite looking at the others but instead watching the entrance to the plane, which Karin just closed behind her, Sakura, and Darrell. "I take it Ran didn't tell you everything, so I'll let you in on everything from the beginning..."

Akira merely nodded, leaning to her side to whisper into Ran's ear, "You didn't tell me that _she'd _be here. She's that famous Taichi fighter from the World Warrior circuit."

"She told me it was a secret," the reporter mumbled back. "She didn't quite know you, so when I said that I'd call you to join up, she told me to exclude her from the details. For all she know of you, you could've been some big fan of hers and she'd have to deal with maybe more if you called them... She especially was cautious once I told her that you use the same fighting style as she does."

"I get it..."

"Alright everybody," Karin's voice unexpectedly ran over the plane's intercom system. "We're about to take off, so It would be a wise decision to find a seat and buckle up. Our first stop will be in Saebe. The Zaibatsu picked up some suspicious activity there, plus its close by. It won't take long to get there, so just relax. We're off!"

**South Town, USA: 8:33 A.M**

"Ah, Ryu. Early, as I expected. Did you enjoy the night in there?"

At the door of Kim's dojo were three individuals, however in reverse positions. On the outside stood May Lee and Kim, both in casual clothing and prepped to go out on their search and on the inside stood Ryu, still wearing his all-season martial arts gi and headband. From the sight of it, it seemed that Ryu had the least to carry with only his travel bag, and May Lee had to force herself not to go crazy with her bags, limiting herself to just two bags like Ryu, where Kim only carried one.

At Kim's question, Ryu only nodded, triggering a smile on Kim's face.

"Perfect. That means that we're just about set. We need to get to the airport at 10 to catch the next flight to Japan. As I predicted, a lot of the activity is happening there."

Then, without warning, Kim was interrupted by a tired yarn from May Lee, who rubbed her eyes and then immediately apologized.

"Sorry, guys... I guess the excitement didn't let me get much sleep the other night..."

"That's quite alright, May," Kim acknowledged. "You can catch up on your sleep on the plane, so the sooner, the better, right?"

May Lee nodded. "Let's get moving before I pass out. So, I'm guessing that you're driving, right?"

The Taekwondo master gave his pupil a bit of a look, and May Lee instantly sweatdropped.

"No... You mean..."

Kim nodded. "We're walking. It'll be nice exercise for your legs and endurance."

At first May Lee had a pretty strong desire to protest this decision, but then she forgot it, figuring that Kim wouldn't make her do anything... totally crazy. Nope, this wasn't his worst, especially since he said "walking" and not "running" like normal exercises featured. And it was on solid ground, with nothing (at least, nothing as dangerous as hot coals or the like...) on the ground to improve her striking speed...

"Ok, I guess we can do that."

"Alright. Time to get the lead out."

45 minutes later

The streets of South Town never deviated from its natural rustle and bustle as the three traveled through, May Lee herself questioning why she didn't offer to pay for bus fare the entire time. However, now it didn't matter. She was just glad as after their long trek across the city they were actually a good ten minutes away from their final destination. The buildings were steadily making way a bit the closer they got, and eventually the three found themselves in a wide park; one all three knew as the one just in front of the airport.

"So, once we arrive in Kyoto, I was planning on giving a good friend of mine a visit," Kim announced. "He's been in Kyoto for quite a while now as his students went on their musical tour. I'm pretty sure he'd have a little insight on how things are running over there."

"I see..." Ryu replied, looking around at the green surroundings, a slight breeze making his headband sway as he walked. May Lee, bringing up the rear, was too looking around, but not just to admire the scenery. She was busy looking for some other people around besides them... and she wouldn't have to look long, for as they approached a basketball court, her eyes widened...

"Master Kim! Ryu! Check out whose playing ball!"

"Mmm? "

Both men turned their attention to the sound of a basketball pounding the asphalt, and grew aware at the sight of a few young kids all guarding one individual, said person now dribbling. He wore a white t-shirt under a red denim jacket and blue jeans, and a famous red and white cap that was signed "Fatal Fury" on it, his blond hair done in a long ponytail... it took only one glance for the three fighters (or anyone else in South Town for that matter) to recognize him...

"Get the right side!" a young baller on defense shouted. "He might take it straight to the hoop this time!"

"Frank! Stay on him!" another shouted, watching the game from the side.

"Come on, kid! Let's see you get a steal on me!"

The kid guarding the strong-built individual kept his ground, his arms out to man up his defense, watching the man's hand carefully as he dribbled. Every once and a while he'd attempt a steal, but the blond's handle was too good for it. Then, in one swift spin move, he broke away from the defense, drove up to the hoop, jumped up, and slammed it home."

"That's game!" he called while landing, the ball moving out of bounds and towards the three fighters on the outside of the court. "Nice try, kid." He then flipped a finger off his red cap and pointed it towards the younger. "Better luck next time."

The kid only smiled, his three-man team giving him respect for taking on the guy one-on-one. "Thanks for the game, Terry! See ya next time!"

"Later!"

No doubt, the man was Terry Bogard, one of the famous fighters on the KOF circuit, and right now he was enjoying a day out. Now turning over to get his ball, placing it in his bag, he looked up and found out that he had a crowd...

"Hey, Kim!" he shouted out. "What's up? Looks like you're on your way out traveling... and, whoa! Look who's with ya!"

Grabbing his ball and his travel bag from the ground, Terry steadily approached the small group, a hand in his jean pocket and holding his bag over his shoulder. Once he was close he brought his hand back out and shook Ryu's hand strongly.

"It's been years since I've seen you," he continued. "Still travelin' and fightin'?"

Ryu only responded with a nod, making the Bogard spark a smile.

"Well, I don't know what brings you around these parts, but don't forget that I'm always willing to go a few rounds with ya. You know with Andy out in the mountains training, Rock traveling and Joe in Japan, it clears my schedule up whatnot.

"Now isn't that nice to hear," Kim said while rubbing a hand on his chin. "We were just about to head out to Japan ourselves and handle some business regarding a certain organization..."

"Oh... I see... Evil huntin' again, eh? You never change, Kim."

"And I see by that look in your eyes that you aren't just going to leave us this time..." Kim smirked. Terry shook his head.

"The Lone Wolf hears the cry of battle and follows it. You know I can't resist a good brawl, even if I have to continent jump to do it. So, who's on your radar this time now that N.E.S.T.S. is in the history books?"

"It's a big crime syndicate that's been around for quite a while. Shadowloo. I believe it's responsible for all the mishaps that has sprung up recently. I was going to Kyoto to meet up with Chin, who says he might have some info for us."

"Hmmm... sounds like a plan... Think you guys don't mind a fourth wheel on the expedition?"

Kim and May Lee both shook their heads. "It wouldn't be a problem..." the Tae Kwon Do champion began.

"That is, if you have some money on you..." May Lee smirked.

"Don't need to worry about that," the current King of Fighters champion said while tipping his cap. "I always carry my weight around."

"Alright! With Terry on our team, evil better watch out! It's past due for a hurting once we cross paths!" the superheroine shouted mightily, looking up hopefully into the blue sky while clenching her fist. Terry couldn't help but laugh at the way May Lee put on a show.

"Well, our flight is in a good short while," Kim reminded, pointing towards the direction of the nearby airport. "We'd better get there before it leaves us."

"No problem!" Terry answered, already making his way there, Ryu, Kim, and May Lee right behind him. "Next stop, Kyoto!"

**Tong-An, China: 8:35 A.M.**

The moment Kaoru and Yui ended their warp and landed on the brick streets of Tong-An, Kaoru immediately knew trouble wasn't too far away. The air was thick in silence and the vibes from her surroundings were very negative, despite the appearance. Yet, even so, she couldn't help but gawk a little. She never stepped foot in this place before and technically, the only thing she did was follow Mitsumi's call back to sender. For the first time in her life she laid eyes on the beautiful traditional buildings in the village, all basked in a golden glow from the sun shining in the distance, and she was taken aback at the fact that everything had such a pure potential to it...

"So this is Tong-An..." Kaoru began while stepping forward.

"Yeah... Mitsumi's birthtown," Yui commented. "It's been a long while since I've been here... However, things aren't right here. The streets are practically deserted..."

Yui's attention then went to a particular building, in which its front door was slightly ajar, and someone was peaking out of. The persons' focus lay cleanly on the couple before about a second before Yui's glance made the individual close the door.

"This town's normally pretty social and friendly at this time..." he continued, "but it seems as if something's making them hide..."

"Or someone," Kaoru ended as they turned down another street, trying to track down their friend's ki level.

"This doesn't add up. Just a minute ago I could feel her loud and clear. Now its faded out. You don't think she..."

"No," Yui interrupted rather sharply. "We'll find her, Kaoru. Trust me. Let's check out her restaurant. It's called the Blue Gale. As a matter of fact--"

"Looks like I already found it..."

The two stopped as soon as their eyes spotted a relatively large black plane with a very sleek design "parked" in front of a building, most specifically, one that's sign was now on the ground, a large hole in a few spots in the wall, and guards, all wearing black military attire, were standing guard outside the restaurant door and the plane...

Without saying a word, the two silently ducked undetected behind a stand held conveniently at their side, and peeped over it to look on.

"Just what in the world is that...?" Yui whispered.

"It's Shadowloo..." Kaoru replied, her own eyes unable to believe what she was seeing. "Chun-Li WAS right! But... how did they return like this...?"

She, however, couldn't ponder at that for long, as movement began to stir just inside the building. The guards outside all faced the entrance of the Blue Gale restaurant, watching two female soldiers built similar in size, one with red hair and the other blond, and in their hands... and dragging limply along the ground, was a young woman with brown hair done in a long, heavy braid and with burgundy clothes...

"Ohmigod..." Kaoru muttered quickly, feeling her pulse quicken at the sight. "They got her... She's out cold! That's why I couldn't sense her! Come on, Yui! We're saving her—"

Before the traveler could rush in, Yui stopped her by grabbing onto her right arm. "Wait a second... I think they're talking... Let's see if we can get some information first."

At first Kaoru was going to ignore Yui's suggestion and teleport into the fray, but after a quick second she solemnly nodded and maintained her position. "Yeah... I guess you're right..."

The two remained silent and kept a sharp ear out as they eavesdropped onto the conversation sparked between the blond soldier and one of the guards manning the loading bay to the flying vessel...

"Subject 45: Yao Mitsumi. Apprehended," the woman reported. "Requesting permission to board and return to base."

"Understood," returned the guard. "Throw her in the lock. We're running right on schedule. We should be back in base in about an hour. Let's move."

"Uh... guys...?"

Kaoru and Yui both gasped as the last voice ran through the air. It was different from the other two, and it grew apparent that it was accompanied with the brown-haired woman slowly raising her head so that she could be eye-to-eye with the main guard...

"M... Mitsumi...?" Kaoru whispered to herself, relieved with the fact that she's back on the conscious side, but a bit worried as to what would happen now...

"So you regained consciousness..." the guard began. "It doesn't matter. You've put up quite a hassle, but you're now part of Shadowloo. What you have to say won't matter much anymore."

"Oh... Is that right...?"

And much to the guard's surprise, the mountain girl sprouted a small smirk onto her battered face, triggering the man's nasty look.

"Why I ought to stomp this boot right in that face of yours. Just why are you smiling?"

Mitsumi shook her head. "Oh, it's nothing... It's just that... well..." she now looked at her captives... "...remember when I said that I'd go quietly...? Before these two goons knocked me out...? I... LIED!"

Before anyone could catch on, Mitsumi managed to slip her arms out from the girls' grasps, placed herself onto one knee to support herself, and stuck with twin elbows to the soldiers' sides, making them reel away form her in shock. She then hopped back, just narrowly missing a grasping hand from the head guard, then assembled a defensive stance, staying wary.

"Why you little..." the man growled. "Want to die, eh? That's no problem with me. Men! Fire on my mark!"

The 10 or so guards around the area then focused in on Mitsumi, their firearms aimed and crosshairs all on Mitsumi's body...

_Cowards... Just where the heck ARE Kaoru and Yui!_

"We're HERE!"

Mitsumi then linked and looked to her left, just in time to see two guards get dropped by two flying kicks from none other than the traveler and her husband. The doragon-ryuu disciple then smiled heavily as soon as her partners hopped back and joined her in the middle of the Shadowloo circle.

"It's about time you two showed up!" she sighed in relief, then focused in on the ring leader. "So you think its cute to try to kidnap me, eh...? I don't know who you people are, but rest assured you're going back where you came from empty-handed!"

"Tch... Three of you. Thirteen of us. Won't make much of a difference... Tary! Janie! Get a scan on the new pieces of meat pronto! Everyone else, drop your guns! I don't want any friendly fire! Hand to hand until the girls are done!"

"Yes, sir," the girls to the sides of the threesome said simultaneously, now setting their sights on their targets while the others began to close in, following orders...

"Kaoru! Yui!" Mitsumi warned. "Don't let those two get a good fix on you! They did to me and they practically knew every move before I did it! Keep moving!"

The other two nodded.

"Alright, let's take 'em down! Hoooooooo!"

Instantly, Mitsumi shot herself forward to the nearest soldier, who began to assume a defensive stance, and blocked the mountain girl's flying kick, but she bounced backwards and into the air, not letting him retaliate...

"Ryuujin Hirameki! TYAH!" the eldest of the three friends shouted, throwing her arm out and stunning her foe with a fast streak of golden ki energy before finishing it off with a stronger blast with the other arm, the force roofing the Shadowloo soldier off his feet and into the wall of the restaurant, his back bending wickedly as it collided into a hold in the wall and finally rested by slumping down onto the ground. Once she landed, she ducked, a fist from her second opponent just gazing her head and returned with an elbow to the side of the head. As her opponent stumbled over, the mountain girl opted to finish the job, but a silver ki bolt from Yui covered her, sending the man into the ground.

Before she could even mutter thanks, the air filled with a shrill cry as Kaoru dodged a punch to her face, grab the arm of her assailant, and brought her victim down to the floor hard, cleanly breaking his arm upon impact. She then backed away, letting him roll over and hold his arm in utter pain, then barely blocked an attack on her blind side. As she dealt with the fourth soldier, Yui and Mitsumi turned around to the sound of an approaching yell from "Shadowloo Lackies" number 5 & 6, both running to ambush them, and, ironically...

"Must be the rookies of the squad..." Mitsumi joked. Yui only shrugged before getting ready to counter...

Three seconds later, the two merely moved to opposite sides, letting them miss wildly in their attacks. As Yui ran in and took out his target with a simple lunge punch, Mitsumi merely danced mockingly in her stance.

"Come on, kid! I'm pretty sure that wasn't a serious attempt at hurting me!" she taunted, ducking forwards again and making her assailant miss a high kick to her head. As the soldier spun around again to attack a third time, Mitsumi spun, grabbed his arm, and planted her brown shoe right into his chin, sending him flying onto the ground, finishing by jumping after him and landing hard with both feet onto his stomach, the young man groaning hard before she reluctantly got off.

"Six down, four to go..." Yui announced to himself, noticing that movement was coming his way from behind again. This time he didn't bother to turn to face his opponent, letting the seventh soldier actually land his attack onto the back of his head. However, he later regretted it, for instantly someone grabbed onto his neck from _his _backside, and it was revealed to be another Yui, the first one disappearing shortly after the strike, and then swiftly, Yui twisted hard, and just like that, there were three left.

And as Kaoru and Yui turned to face them, they grew aware that those left were all ganging up on Mitsumi, two at her sides and one in front of her...

"Be careful, Mitsumi!" Kaoru shouted out!

"Yeah, I see 'em..." the mountain girl replied, bracing herself as the others stared her down. After about 2 seconds, all three came in for a grand final assault...

"Let's see you handle this!" she shouted, twisting her body around a bit and charging up her ki. She waited for them to come within a hair of her body... and then let loose, spinning in place with a wild hurricane kick that actually caused the air around her to pick up into a vicious storm, hiding her and the three remaining lackeys from sight, but the sound was more than the vacuum caused by Mitsumi's super attack, the Uzumakimoyou... Once it was done, the others were sent flying onto the ground, one in particular landing right in front of the main guard... who was now paying all three fighters his full attention.

"Any last words...?" Mitsumi warned, turning to face him herself. The man gave a scowl, not at all happy at the outcome...

"Girls...! What's with those scans!" he screamed at the two Shadowloo dolls, who were near his side, but much to his dismay, they seemed worried.

"Something's wrong..." the blond, Janie, muttered. "The data that is coming up... is not matching up with them... It's..."

"It's WHAT?" the leader demanded. Janie, now beginning to sweat heavily, stuttered a bit before she made a solid sentence.

"...wait... I'm getting something..."

"You guys!" Mitsumi shouted, leering at her partners. "What are you waiting for? I told you what'd happen if they get a fix on you guys! That's how they managed to get me off guard! They... seem to have the ability to pick up our skills just by looking at us!"

"Mitsumi..." Yui answered, pointing at the two young women in front of the plane. "Look..."

"Uh...?"

The mountain girl looked questionably at Janie and Tary then raised an eyebrow.

"Hey... What's with them...?"

On the other end, Janie continued her readings of Yui, Kaoru and Mitsumi...

"There's something... very powerful in each of them... Something extremely dark... Possible ki levels are going well off the records... This goes well into the "A" ranking in the warning database..."

"From _these _three guys?" the leader asked, his voice now wavering in favor of a possible hold-off.

"When we first came here and battled Mitsumi," Tary now spoke, "her threat rating was only a minor 'C', but once subjects #40 and #41 showed up... it skyrocketed..."

"But I don't see any difference!" the lead man yelled out. "And besides, you two should be able to handle them no problem!"

To his shock, both dolls shook their heads.

"That's a negative..." the blond responded. "Miss Raven hasn't outfitted us with the upgrade that has started to go around in Shadowloo. If we take them out now, we risk not making it back to base alive..."

The guard growled hard, now staring at the three Street Fighters a few meters in front of him. "We're not retreating... I'm making sure of it... We're going to take that chance! On my—"

"_I strongly suggest you reconsider that option..."_

The man gasped once a new voice rung into his ear...

"Hey, goofballs!" Mitsumi shouted, now tapping her foot impatiently on the brick floor. "What's the hold up? I'm just waiting to get my hands on you more than even now!"

The main guard paid her no mind and instead tapped the hidden communicator in his ear, looking away to focus...

"S... senior Vega..." he stammered. "What are you...?"

"_I'm calling off this attack. You, Janie and Tary are to retreat back to the nearest base."_

"But... you can't be serious...!"

"_If you wish to defy the order... I can always deal with YOU along with our three little targets as well..."_

"Ok, ok... We're moving out..."

As if they were listening in on the short conversation, the two dolls made their way behind the guard and into the ship, leaving Mitsumi shocked.

"What the...? They're leaving...?" she blinked, confused.

"You should be glad that they are..." Kaoru answered, giving her a mute look. Mitsumi merely replied with a "Biiiiiiida!" raspberry before returning her attention to the main man, who was now backing away and into the aircraft. As soon as he disappeared inside, the sound of engines filled the air, and within an instant, the plane lifted off the ground, kicking up a storm of wind and making the three fighters take cover nearby inside the totaled Blue Gale restaurant. In a few more moments, the plane took off, leaving Kaoru, Yui, and Mitsumi to look out the door as it aborted its mission and traveled into the distance.

"Well... I guess that's that..." the chef sighed, wiping the sweat off her forehead.

"Young Mitsumi..."

"Eh...?"

The trio's attention moved over to the streets, where pedestrians were now cautiously moving out of their hiding places, be it in the buildings or in the alleyways. Before any of them knew it...

"Looks like you have some fans here, Mitsumi?" the silver-haired Korean asked as they were face-to-face with a hefty majority of the population of Tong-An, most of them wearing traditional Chinese wear.

"Heh... I guess so..." Mitsumi answered while letting out a laugh, rubbing the back of her head with a hand shortly before an elder woman, a good head shorter than her, grabbed the other.

"Oh, thank you, Mitsumi. Thank you and your friends for ridding the city of that wretch..."

"Oh, it was no sweat. I'm sure we've could've taken them any day of the week."

"Don't worry about the restaurant," the elder woman continued. "I'll call some relatives of mine and they'll patch it up, good as new for you, Wangtang, and your master."

"Thanks. I'd appreciate that a lot."

_I wonder if today isn't on the calendar for her... _Kaoru joked to herself, just before a few young kids came up to her and Yui, all 6 of them smiling.

"Say! You two are just as strong as Mitsumi says you are!" one chimed.

"Yeah! Wangtang, even!" another one followed.

"Come!" a male in his thirties rang over everyone's commotion. "A feast for the three who protected the town!"

As the crowd steadily agreed, the kids all grasped onto the three fighter's hands and, a bit against their wishes (even though inside they didn't mind), dragged them off down the street with the rest of the population. As they went off in celebration, on top of the restaurant stood another figure in yellow and blue attire with a snake running along the side. His face was hidden among the white mask, showing only his wild blue eyes and his long blond hair swayed in the sudden breeze as he eyed the dark-skinned, black haired traveler with sick intent, the claw upon his right hand now over the area of the mask where his mouth would've licked it, as if it were covered with blood already...

"Yes... That's the one... Come night time... that beauty will be mine... Enjoy your fun, Kaoru... Rest up... because tonight... I paint the town red..."


	11. Night Shift

_**CHAPTER 11: NIGHT SHIFT**_

Location Unknown: 7:55 P.M.

**COMPRESSION DATA ANALYZED. MERGING...**

**MATERIAL ACTIVATION PROCESS COMMENCING...**

"Kai!" a thunderous voice filled the lab, breaking the silence generated by the computers strung about. "How's the new device coming along?"

The middle Hashimoto sibling brought his eyes from the screen in front of him to the entrance of the black-coated lab. At the doorway stood his brother, Vexx, and sister, Saya, all three of them in a black Shadowloo militia uniform, and as the two approached Kai, he merely returned to the computer screen, which showcased a bar moving slowly across, indicating his project's progress.

"I'm finishing it up now," he replied, his voice showing neither any excitement nor dismay at the manner.

"What is it this time?" the eldest of the three asked, taking a seat next to his brother and observing for himself. Saya merely stood behind her brothers, her eyes soft as she listened.

"It's another weapon I've been concocting. It utilizes my latest discovery; leech technology. It has a wide variation of uses. Once it latches onto something, it'll drain it of whatever I see fit. It can be used on supercomputers to hack for data and such or on living targets for ki and vitality. The beautiful thing about my newest invention is that once it latches, it doesn't come off, unless I put in the deactivation code."

Vexx gave a strong nod, patting Kai on the back. "Excellent. Do me a favor, though. Once that finished, I want you to give Saya her regular data check-up—"

At the mention of his sister's name, Kai snapped his fingers, cutting his brother off.

"That reminds me..."

He looked to his side, then the other to the left, before locating something beside the Shadowloo computer.

"Saya, take this."

The blond girl blinked, looking at Kai's hand as it brought to her a device no bigger than a standard collapsible calculator.

"What is this...?" she asked lightly. Kai smirked at her and replied.

"You know that after every battle you participate in your skills improve. Well, this device will inform you how much experience you'll gain, what skill level you're on compared to other fighters, and it also serves as a scouter for possible threats. I've even taken the liberty to analyze our ki and body specifics, and I've come up with a way to 'upload' new techniques into your brain once your body is able to perform it."

Saya only stared at the small contraption in Kai's hand for a while before taking it for herself.

"That's... interesting..." was all she "thanked" her brother with.

"Just attach it anywhere you see fit. The electromagnetic waves in it were adjusted so that it can do its job without having to physically latch onto you. I calibrated it already so you are ready to go."

The youngest Hashimoto nodded, now looking at the screen that made up the top part of the device...

**CURRENT ABILITY LEVEL: 2**

**EXPERIENCE LEVEL: 1540**

**EXP. LEVEL UNTIL UPGRADE: 2000**

**CURRENT SKILLS (SPECIAL): RAY OF LIGHT, RAINBOW CRUISER, LIGHT BREAKER, RAINBOW ROAD**

**CURRENT SKILLS (SUPER): SHOWER OF LIGHT, LIGHT RAIN**

**CURRENT SKILLS (HYPER): N/A**

**CLOSEST COMPARISON MATCH: SEAN MATSUDA**

"This thing says I'm on level 2..." she commented quizzily.

"Yeah. The VitaBase, as I call it, goes up to 10 levels, 10 being the highest you can reach. So far, your body and ki are able to only perform those moves listed. As you get stronger, the VitaBase will inform you of others you're ready to try out."

"And how much experience will I gain...?"

"That depends on who you're fighting. The more effort you put into your battle and whoever you're facing varies the result at the end. Someone over your current level will grant you a faster level up rather than those below you."

"I see..."

The two brothers looked at Saya as she placed the device back-first onto the back of her right glove, then Kai spoke again.

"You alright?"

"Who? Me? Yeah... I'm fine."

"It seems as if you're being troubled."

Saya slowly shook her head, her gaze towards the floor. "It's nothing."

"Yeah, well, sharpen up," Vexx commanded. "We need to be on stand-by for any more orders, and if we get one, you better be focused on the objective."

"Ok."

No sooner did Saya reply did Kai notice a small noise from behind him. He spun around and read the screen.

"It's finished."

A sudden swishing noise took over the room, a portal emerging from the computer's mainframe, showcasing a set of similar small silver capsules. Each one had a sleek design and had a stripe towards its left with a different color on it.

"With the new set of Packages I created, jobs should be a lot simpler..."

As Kai went on about his business with Vexx, Saya toned him out slightly, her mind focused on an empty void that was in front of her eyes where only her thoughts existed...

_I wonder how much longer I can stand this..._

"Hashimotos. Attention."

All three soldiers stood up and faced the entrance, seeing a young Shadowloo official donning long black hair and a well-toned body, staring at them. The three saluted instantly and the man nodded in acceptance.

"Pleasure to meet you, Leo," Kai welcomed. "What brings you?"

Leo's eyes turned from Kai to Saya, and then, without moment's hesitation, pointed at her.

"Saya Hashimoto. Direct orders. Raven wants to see you personally."

Those words were enough to make Saya stiffen and her heart drop. Not only that, but even her brothers were taken aback at this call.

"The big girl herself...?" the eldest muttered to no one in particular. "It's been a long time since we've seen her... and of all of Shadowloo, she wants Saya...? Must be something big..."

"M... Miss Raven...?" Saya gulped. "W... what did I—"

"Don't fret. You have done nothing wrong. Miss Raven has a special assignment for you, and she wishes that you are there to hear it yourself. She is waiting for you in the landing dock. Prepare to leave ASAP."

Breathing a heavy sigh, Saya nodded and saluted once again.

"Yes, sir."

Leo returned the gesture and took his leave. The instant the door closed she exchanged glances with her brothers, Kai not saying anything this time around, instead rising to get his accessories.

"You shouldn't be keeping the boss waiting..." Vexx said under his breath yet loud enough for his sister to get the message.

"Ok, I'm off, then. See you guys when I'm done."

2 minutes later

It didn't take long for Saya to reach the docking airport. Located outside the area was full of other members of Shadowloo performing their marks in random spots, a large runway heading out towards the black abyss called the night sky.

"It's breezy tonight..." the young girl whispered to herself, feeling the winds kick her short blond bob around. For a while Saya just stood in her place, paying little mind to all the activity around her. For some odd reason, a thing she could only dismiss as a gut feeling, she knew why the workers were operating faster than normal...

The presence of something... mighty and abnormal was close by and Saya knew who it was. The power made her blood run hot, and she knew only one person, on that was very familiar to her, could be behind it.

(beep, beep, beep)

"Uh...?" she gasped, noticing that all of a sudden a swift sound emerged from her night hand. Quickly she looked at it, and read the signal from her VitaBase.

**STRONG KI SIGNAL DETECTED. DISTANCE: TWENTY METERS AND CLOSING. **(an arrow was pointing in the direction for emphasis) **PREPARING KI SCAN...**

"Twenty meters...?" Saya immediately spun around to look for herself, but nothing in the remote area seemed out of the ordinary...

**TEN METERS. SIGNAL IDENTIFIED. NAME—**

"Miss Saya Hashimoto..."

"AH!"

At the sudden call of her name, Saya couldn't help but jump back in shock as a being began to materialize right in front of her eyes. The woman, sporting a blood red and upgraded model of her own attire, and long, almost wild, brown hair, was quite a bit taller than Saya by about half a foot. However, size didn't matter; Saya knew who it was long before the VitaBase verified it.

**--RAVEN. STATUS: ALLY.**

"Oh...! M-Miss Raven," Saya saluted hesitantly. "What brings you here in Japan?"

Raven gave Saya a somewhat friendly look, raising a hand from her black cape. "Please, Saya. You can skip the formalities just this once."

This caused the blond to blink. "Uh..."

"You and I have a pretty tight relationship, don't we? Remember that I was the one who personally picked you up while you were in the gutter, so that makes you special, doesn't it?"

"I... I guess so..." Saya then breathed out a sigh and relaxed. "You... needed me for something?"

Raven's brown eyes lit up a bit. "As a matter of fact, yes, I do. If you'd be so kind as to follow me... wait..."

Once again Raven's right hand emerged from the housing of the cape, only this time it pointed to the small compact device on Saya's glove.

"And that would be...?"

"Oh, this? It's a new invention my brother just finished," as Saya explained it, Raven stroked her chin. "Its supposed to monitor my fighting progress and help scout out targets and such."

"Hmm..." the Shadowloo leader brought herself forward, looking at the display which was currently focusing on her. "Nifty..."

Saya remained quiet as Raven grasped her hand and brought it closer to her eyes then suddenly, Raven's eyes flashed red and a strong, color-matching aura surrounded her body for about a second. During that one second, all activity at the port once again stopped, all staring at the two individuals. However, no one was more frozen stiff than Saya, who WAS right in front of her boss as she powered up, and she felt her heart drop down into her intestines...

Then, as if it were nothing, Raven's ki dropped once again to normal, looking carefully at the screen...

**SUBJECT: RAVEN**

**THREAT RATING: S+**

**STATUS: SHADOWLOO LEADER**

**SUGGESTIVE ACTION: N/A**

And, out of the blue, making Saya gasp in utter disbelief, Raven let out a laugh.

"This... device is pretty cute..." the long-haired women commented. "What does Kai call it?"

"Um... the... the VitaBank..." Saya hesitantly answered.

"Mmm... you don't mind if I borrow this, do you, Saya?"

The young soldier blinked at the request, confused. "E... excuse me?"

The boss of Shadowloo nodded. "Scientists in Shadowloo labs had just finished an update to a secret project but this'll further advance it. As a matter of fact..."

**(INCOMING CALL. INCOMING CA--)**

"Leo, here..."

"Leo? Raven. Listen to me. I want you to head back to the Hashimoto bunker and retrieve Kai Hashimoto. Tell him to board onto my plane. I have a special job for him as well, and it will require all his material, so tell him to come equipped and prepared. Also, have Vexx go on base security. Interior. Is that understood?"

"Yes. Loud and clear. Over and out."

"Miss Raven?" Saya called, noticing that Raven closed her eyes after trailing off her sentence, as if entering a trance. "Are you—"

"Yes, I'm fine," Raven interjected, quickly snapping out of it. She let go of Saya's hand, which had grown warmer than before, and not due to her body heat. "Come. I must share a word with you, and I don't want anyone overhearing it."

Saya nodded obediently and followed her boss into the rather large jet parked in the runway. The instant they were on board, it sealed shut, giving her a bit of a jolt.

"You sure seem more nervous than usual..." Raven commented, now turning towards her left and down the small corridor. Saya merely stood for a second, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, and followed suit. In comparison to the outside, the inside of the jet seemed to feel like a personalized extension of the base itself; the floors decorated with red and gold carpet and the walls a similar coating. Each window had shading on it, matching with everything else, and even the ceilings were crafted with the custom fans, all operational. As the two walked, Saya grew once again familiar with the branching pathways leading to other areas of Raven's private piece of aerial transportation, and it never ceased to amaze her how someone like her would actually go through all this to travel in style.

Following Raven, Saya passed two intersections towards the tail of the ship before going up a third path, a short one that found itself ending at a large pair of doors with the Shadowloo flying skull logo in the middle...

"Do you remember this, Saya?" Raven asked. The young Hashimoto sibling responded with a single nod. Once she did, the boss smiled before turning around and facing a small keypad to the right of the door. Saya counted 7 beeps before the conformation sound signaled and the twin doors opened, revealing a flight of stairs.

Without speaking, Raven entered with Saya right behind her, the girl observing the various works of art sculpted on the walls as she ascended... Before she knew it, the stairs ended and Saya stopped... and instantly her jaw dropped.

"Welcome to... heh... 'my room', as you people would say," Raven smirked, still waling forwards into the huge, foyer-like room. Sure, Saya remember the room itself, but things were a lot different than the last time she was led here. The room was filled with leisure delights both exotic and common wealth. In the corner to Saya's left side sat a huge entertainment setup system, complete with a flat screen TV a good 72" long and with any possible hookup known to man, wither it be the best DVD players to video game systems to things she didn't even come across before. In the center was a large statue of some type of mythical horse in a full action pose, as if to charge at something with its horns, surrounded by its own water fountain. To her right were a conjunction of circular tables, varying in size and design to couple with the collection of books on the wall. Behind the horse was the only thing Saya could recognize; Raven's desk, a large screen handing from the ceiling overhead with a display on both sides. Yet in still, with all that she saw and other little surprises strung about the room, the young girl just couldn't believe it. In fact, the shock left her just frozen in place, unable to speak.

Rest assured Raven was very aware of Saya's reaction, even though she never faced her.

"Well, what are you waiting for? I told you that you were special. You and your brothers are the only ones I had as my guests on this plane, so feel privileged. Relax. Take off your boots and make yourself at home."

Even still, Saya was too stunned to take up an action. Of all the things she was expecting, mainly that pertaining to the observation of the operations of Shadowloo, this was the _least _on her list. Wide eyes and all, she gazed over at the leader of Shadowloo, who merely found her way over towards a mirror near the back of the room, complete with racks and other changing of clothes, and shook her head a bit, letting her long hair flow all around her. Right afterwards she brought her hands to her neck and removed the black cape, showing fully her red version of the uniform Saya was now wearing. As Raven unzipped a portion of the upper part of the attire, Saya slowly brought herself to her senses and began to ease up. She breathed out a sigh of relief and started to slip out of her top as well.

"You know, being the head of a corporation such as this one can make you pretty tired... so I can just imaging how you must feel, behind taken under my wing at such a tender age... and doing all of the jobs assigned to you..."

Saya's attention turned back to Raven, the blond now holding her black uniform top in her hand, a mere sleeveless t-shirt replacing it.

_I don't think you have to imaging at all... _she thought to herself.

"Remember our agreement, Saya?" Raven asked while turning around. "When we first met?"

"Yes, Miss Raven," Saya replied. "In exchange of our services, you'd... take care of us..."

"Exactly."

Raven now started towards Saya. "Do you know what that makes me?"

Saya didn't respond to that, instead keeping a close eye on her grand superior. Once they were in close, Raven continued.

"That somewhat makes me liable as your guardian. A second mother, and that would make you a daughter of mine to some extent. Do you know why I do certain things with you that I don't with the other operatives across the world?"

This question Saya didn't get a chance to answer to, for she heard her answer right then and there.

"Because a mother does special things for her children. Of course you know that I can not replace what you lost that day... but at least now I'm able to make your life easier than before."

Raven paused a bit, giving Saya a good look in the eyes and then dug into her pant pocket...

"Look... I got a present for you."

"A... present...?"

"Yes," the older female replied, her right hand bringing out a black and gray ring, somewhat large and seemingly made of marble. As the Hashimoto girl observed it, she could see a strap that held it together.

"It's a rare necklace," Raven said, "dating back to the ages of the Aztecs of South America and the mighty pharaohs of Egypt. The value of it is astronomical nowadays, but, of course, nothing is out of range for me..."

As she ended, Raven smirked as Saya took the item and immediately put it on around her neck. Once she strapped it on she blinked.

"It's not as heavy as it looks..."

Her boss merely nodded at the fact. "Now... what do we say when someone gives us a gift...?"

For a second, the question didn't register into Saya's brain, but once it did, she gasped in embarrassment.

"Oh! Sorry. Thank you Miss Raven."

Once again Raven nodded in accepting, just as she and her subordinate felt a slight vibration and the sound of jet engines picking up.

"We're about to take off. Saya, I have a specific job for you to do, but don't worry yourself about that right now. For now, you'll be on board with me, so make yourself comfortable. I shall have the chefs cook whatever you wish when you're hungry and feel free to walk around. I have a spare bedroom to the side there in case you want to retire. Just do me a favor..."

"Yes...?"

Suddenly, Raven's soft eyes regained a bit of its initial harden intent. "I trust you will not enter my retiring quarters under any circumstances. That's the only area that is off limits to you. That gives you a full 98 percent of the ship for you to enjoy. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am..."

Raven raised her head and blinked, returning to her previous mood. "Ok, then. Enjoy your stay, little Saya."

"I will," Saya replied, brightening up a bit. "Thanks."

Then the two turned away from each other, Saya sitting near the TV and kicking off her boots, actually smiling as she welcomed her black socks back to the light, and started to enjoy the impressive amount of channels on the high definition TV. Raven, in turn, smiled, her eyes giving off a single blood red flash as she turned to the door behind her desk and teleported through it...

_Saya Hashimoto... She holds quite a bit of promise in her frail body. Yes... She'll be just the person I need..._

Location Unknown: 7:59 P.M.

"'Bout time you got here, Kusanagi. I was beginning to think that I'd have to carry out my threat..."

"Enough with the small chat, K'. I want to know why the heck we're out here."

"...follow me. You'll find out soon enough... Hey... Ok, I can understand Benimaru... but why'd you bring him?"

"Who? Shingo? Meh... I don't even know myself."

"...whatever. As long as he keeps out of the way, then I guess I don't have much of an issue with it... Just make sure he doesn't screw up."

On an overpass over an industrial area in the deep south end of the city, Kyo stood melancholy against a dim light post, his hair whisking in the breeze of every car that carelessly passed by him and his motorcycle. His eyes were undoubtedly focused on one thing; why he was here. Not too far from him, was two other members of Team Esaka, Benimaru, who was looking around him for any other source of life other than those around him, and Shingo, who was leaning over the guardrail and staring at the buildings below, his eyes wide with excitement.

In front of Kyo and Benimaru, however, stood the silver-haired N.E.S.T.S. rebel, K', and from the looks of things (and how he always looked), he was ready to just get down to business. Sprouting the same emotionless expression, K' simply turned around and faced the buildings below him, reaching into his jacket and putting his infamous black shades over his eyes.

"I'm ready... Let's do this."

"Just wait a second," the Kusanagi heir immediately interjected. "You still didn't say what the hell we're—"

"Kyo..." K' interrupted, not bothering to take his eyes off the field of buildings below him. "You know how to use your fists... so don't wimp out on this. Just shut up, follow me, and whoever else besides those you know you see... knock their lights out."

Kyo didn't respond... leaving K' to suddenly jump over the railing and down the side. The heir began to follow until Benimaru interrupted.

"He still is as stubborn as ever..."

"...come on..."

Shingo gasped as he found out that everyone was jumping down below to the industrial field, and yelled out a "Wait for me!" before following... and tripping over the rail... and screaming all the way down to land on his head.

"Tch...! Watch your tone!" K' hushed harshly, shooting Kyo's student a hot glare. "You want us to get ambushed?"

"S... sorry..." came Shingo's weak apology, rubbing his head while standing up. The others just simply turned back around and followed the rebel. Down here, the lights were spread out and weak, almost as if there was barely any energy being supplied from the power plant. It did seem like a good idea; all these buildings were abandoned and broken. The ground was littered heavily, and the atmosphere couldn't have felt any darker to suit it.

For a while, the four KOF members kept following their lead, at first coming across nothing more than abandoned buildings. After about 5 minutes of nonstop walking, Kyo began to grow impatient. Just before he could speak up, K' stopped on a dime, triggering the others to follow suit.

"Hey," Shingo started, stumped, "why did we...?"

"Shut it," K' immediately responded, his hand coming up to slowly remove the glasses from his face and house them inside his coat. "We're here..."

Before any one of the Esaka members could reply, the sound of turbo engines shot through the air and all eyes went up to see a jet black airplane, almost camouflaged by the night sky, shoot off and away from them with tremendous speed, kicking up a wind that whipped at the four fighters.

"What the hell...?" Kyo began. "There shouldn't be an airport here... K', what the hell is going on here?"

K' only responded by putting his hands in his pockets, his focus still on a target in front of him, and then he spoke calmly.

"Start moving..."

Now starting to get fed up by not getting answers, the Kusanagi heir's eyes fell hardened. "Not until you tell me why we're—"

He never finished. K' instantly took off into a run, catching everyone else off-guard totally. Just as he took 5 steps, the dirt kicked up as something small yet fast started to strike the ground...

"Let's go!" Benimaru shouted, not wasting any more time chatting and shooting off after K'. "We're being shot at!"

Kyo and Shingo didn't need to be told twice. The small group high-tailed it down the dark pathway, which was steadily being pelted with rapid gunfire as they traveled farther. However, despite all this, both Benimaru and Kyo noticed that the abandoned buildings started to give way... and instantly, so did the ground. All four stopped briefly as all but K' stared quizzily at the massive base below them, complete with a runway for air travel... and a majority of people around the area, maintaining the area... and also standing guard. Before any one of them could speak, loud sirens went began to sound, and those in the black uniforms standing guard instantly began buckling down...

"INTRUDER ALERT," a female's voice ran through the over-speakers, "INTRUDER ALERT. FOUR INDIVIDUALS ARE ATTEMPTING TO BREAK INTO THE BASE. SEAL OFF ALL EXITS AND ALL MEMBERS OF BASE SECURITY BE ON GUARD. CODE BLUE. CODE BLUE. STOP THEM AT ALL COSTS."

"Looks like we're going to have to make our way through..." K' muttered.

"I swear when this is all done, you've got some major explaining to do, pal," Kyo shot back. The N.E.S.T.S. rebel didn't respond to that, instead only jumping down the small cliff and maintaining his speed, the others following suit to meet the resistance below...

"Vexx! Can you hear me!"

"I hear you loud and clear... like all the other blasted alarms ringing through this joint. Looks like someone was stupid enough to try to break into a Shadowloo base... especially this one."

"We need you on interior defense, stat! Get your ass over there, ASAP."

"Yeah, whatever. I only have one question... Just who are those idiots?"

"Those 'idiots' have already been identified. They're trying to break their way through our defenses. They all seem to be fighters from the King of Fighters circuit. Three of them are highly skilled, and one of them is only a minor threat. K'... Benimaru Nikaido... Shingo Yabuki... and... Kyo Kusanagi..."

"...hmm... This should be interesting... If they're lucky enough to even make it inside the base, I'll see to it personally that they don't get what they want. It seems as if K' couldn't do this himself... so he got reinforcements... Pity... I thought he was a lot more... of a loner... Rest assured, they won't free the girl."

"You'd better just see to your assignment. Over and out."

"Roger... Heheh..."

Outside, a fierce melee battle was unfolding. All the guards on that side of the base were busy trying to hold down the four KOF fighters... but despite the number advantage, the group was slowly making their way through the runway...

"These guys just keep coming...!" Benimaru shot out, just finishing off a soldier with a hard kick to the head, just as he got ambushed from behind by two others; both female. K' was too busy dealing with the numerous defenses around him to answer that, and Shingo was really overwhelmed; Kyo having to save him more than once by fighting off those trying to grab him...

"Oriya!" the Kusanagi heir shouted, giving a few of his foes a taste of this 100 Shiki: Oniyaki. The moment he landed he ducked down and knocked back another one trying to ambush him. He then spun around again, finding out a bit too late that someone was going to nail a sneak attack on him until he suddenly collapsed... due to K' outstretched arm... the One Inch.

"Follow me!" he shouted out loud. "We're wasting out time trying to take all these guys on. We need to get in the damn place!"

"Well... I don't think these guys are feeling UP to letting us do that!" Kyo returned the favor.

"Just blow through it, then!"

Then, suddenly K' took off like a rocket towards the base, Kyo barely able to see the flame he managed to form in his hand... and just watched on as a good 15 Shadowloo soldiers were sent sky-high, courtesy of the Heat Drive... Not wanting to pass up the pathway to the entrance the other Esaka members quickly dodged their assailants and followed the pathway, not wasting time getting inside right after K'. To Kyo, Shingo, and Benimaru, this place definitely had the feel of a N.E.S.T.S. lab, except with a military feel to it. The insides were a silver color, the soldier-filled corridors forming a maze that could possible leave them lost... Despite this, Kyo was a little surprised to find out that K' was leading a very elaborate path through the base, taking a sharp left... blowing through some more Shadowloo guards... keeping straight... making a hard right...

"For all that we're doing here, this better be good," Benimaru said to K' as the group reached the end of a relatively large corridor.

"Oh, shut up... We're here, anyways," K' smugly replied, slowing down a bit to find himself in a rectangle like area, the walls a more solid white color, and a much darker room towards the left...

"Hey... why aren't there any soldiers here?" Shingo asked, puzzled.

"Who knows..." was Benimaru's only response.

"Tch... something's not right here..." K' muttered to himself. "It wasn't like this last time... It's almost too easy... They really aren't serious about leaving this area unguarded, are they...?"

"You really must be joking..."

K's eyes instantly shot towards the dark room, just in time to see someone emerge from it. Compared to everyone else, he was larger and more built... He was set in a dark blue Shadowloo uniform and his black hair was set in a large ponytail...

"Vexx..." K' muttered harshly, feeling his blood boil badly by seeing this person again. This took the others a bit off guard, because they knew K' only reacted this way against people that really pissed him off. However, his reaction only made Vexx smirk a little.

"So I see you couldn't free her by yourself, so you got backup. I expected better from you, K'..." Vexx then crossed his arms. "I guess you really aren't as tough as you're cracked up to be..."

"Where is your bastard brother and sister?" K' shouted, ignoring Vexx's comments.

"That's not of your concern. Besides... I do believe that I was the one who did most of the damage to you last time. I'm a bit surprised that you gathered the guts to come back. Its only going to take me to stop you again, so don't worry your little head over my support crew."

"Whoa, whoa..." Kyo interrupted. He then gave K' a good look and asked, "YOU lost to HIM?"

K' didn't respond to this at all, instead stepping forward and getting into his fighting stance in the center of the room. "Where's Kula? I'm not going to ask you again... I know you bastards have her here, and I'll beat the info out of you if you don't start talking now!"

"KULA?" Shingo shouted out loud, his jaw dropping, and even Benimaru and Kyo were even more confused about what was happening. All this only made Kyo shake his head.

"This is just insane... K' rescuing Kula? I've seen it all now..."

"Oh... you mean that little brat?" Vexx asked stupidly. "I don't know... Maybe you should look up..."

"What?"

Instantly, the four KOF fighters gazed at the walls above them... and grew shocked at the fact that there was a capsule just above the door where Vexx stood, and inside the clear liquid was a young teenage girl, wearing clothes very similar to that of K' only in a purple tint, in a sleeping state. Her long hair was set in an ice blue tint, but something that struck itself odd was that the tips of her hair was growing blond...

"You see... while you were trying to get help in retrieving your precious Kula, we took the liberty of extracting her ice powers from her DNA," Vexx said in a proud tone. "You guys just don't realize how useful her ice could benefit our leader. Why you think we stole her from you from the first place? Still, it puzzles me how you could've known that we were more than just common kidnappers... and how you found this place to begin with. It doesn't matter to me, though. It's about time I stomped you out like a match. Oh... and since you were kind enough to bring me Kyo and Benimaru, I think I'll take the liberty of capturing them as well... Raven's going to love having you two..."

"I've been captured once too many," Kyo muttered flatly. "I don't need more clones of me running around."

"You still don't understand, don't you?" Vexx said roughly. "Once I pound your lights out, we're going to just TAKE what we need from you; namely your flames. Same with Benimaru's little sparks he calls lightning."

"You're really starting to piss me off, pal," Benimaru shot back. "You so high on your horse that you can't see that you're outnumbered. From the looks of things, I'm definitely thinking that you should've had your little 'support crew' with you this time. I might not know what the hell is going on, but I'm be damned if I'll be part of the problem."

"That's enough chat, then... Its time I got to business exterminating of you three..."

Vexx then unfolded his arms...

"I've been waiting for a decent workout for ages... This better be good..."

...and then reered back... and K', who was right in his sights, stood tight...

"It's time I sent you all to hell!"

...and dodged to the side as Vexx came at him fast with a massive uppercut that could've taken his head off. The moment K' recovered from ducking the Fever Wave, he instantly threw his arm out to create a ring of flame in front of him and then kicked it out at Vexx... who merely swatted it away with his hand.

"SHAAA!"

K' then immediately followed up with a flying cross kick, his Minute Spike, which caught the big Shadowloo soldier off guard. Still he held his ground and slid backwards, absorbing the blow from K's leg.

'Bastard...!" Vexx shot out, fire in his eyes, now launching up from his current position and throwing rather powerful blows at K', who, in turn, just slid backwards to avoid.

"Come here!" the soldier shouted, reaching out a hand unceremoniously to grab K' by his head and initiate his Vortex Flush, but still K' was too wise for it, and instead grabbed Vexx's arm for himself and brought the big guy close to him, only to drive his elbow into the back of his skull and drop him on his face. Vexx immediately cursed at his carelessness and rolled to the side, attempting to get away from K' and recuperate a bit. In the meantime, K' gave his three back-up members a hot glance.

"You think you three could stop looking pretty and make use of yourselves...?" he muttered coolly. Kyo and Shingo were both about to respond, but still Benimaru interrupted.

"I got her. You two watch my back."

Vexx caught on to all that was being said and turned his full attention to the blond in the group. "I'll be DAMNED if I let you get her!"

"Hey, bonehead! Your fight's with ME!"

Vexx then let out a hard groan as K' brought him about again with a hard fist to his face, making him reel just one step backwards. In an instant Vexx whirled back around to face his opponent, a clear expression of anger on his face. Without saying a word he swung at K', who, for once, was a bit off guard, and took the full force of the blow. The attack actually took him off his feet and plowed him into the far wall, yet the rebel wasn't going to be outdone... However, Vexx failed to realize that; instead racing after Benimaru, who was now very close to Kula's capsule...

...Still, Vexx found himself interrupted as Kyo slid in his way and shoved his shoulder forwards, knocking him off momentum. The moment Vexx regained himself he let out a growl.

"Sorry, but I guess I have to get some decent action out of all this mess," the heir said, a smirk on his face.

"Small fry... MOVE YOUR ASS!"

"Gurae!"

Kyo then lunged forward with his 115 Shiki: Douki Gami, pushing a guarding Vexx back a little. Once he finished his punch, Kyo followed with a few more random attacks which were guarded rather easily...

"Is this all you've got?" Vexx shot out, beginning to counter attack, but Kyo's words just stopped him in his tracks.

"You sure aren't all that brilliant, now aren't you?"

"Tch..."

The sudden sound made Vexx stop and turn around... just as a small item hit his face... Before he could realize that it was a pair of black sunglasses, K's elbow rammed into his face, and a hailstorm of attacks rained down on him. After about 14 hits from the Chain Drive, K' ended with a powered-up One Inch, and it sent the huge soldier across the room and slamming into the wall just next to where Benimaru was currently standing; under Kula's capsle. Shingo, who was watching the entire thing from the side, saw that Vexx was dazed, and then looked up at Benimaru...

"Hurry up...! While he's down!"

Benimaru didn't respond; instead looking at a way to get Kula down without hurting her. However, the longer he (unsuccessfully) looked for a way, the more time he was letting Vexx recover. Then, the unexpected happened...

"What the...?"

Benimaru looked on as Kula started to slowly open her eyes... At first she seemed bewildered, but instantly she found her eyes gaze down, unaffected by the water surrounding her, and looked the Esaka member in the eye...

"B... Beni... maru...?" she manage to mutter, the glass muffling her weakening voice. It was then Benimaru found his key...

"You might want to brace yourself... Nnnnnnn...!"

Vexx shook his head hard, instantly feeling the build of ki energy right beside him, and turned in shock at the fact that Benimaru's body began to radiate electricity... focusing around his right fist... and his gaze was going upwards...

"NOOOO!"

"RAIKOUKEN!"

In an instant Benimaru let loose his signature super art on the containment capsule, and the moment the huge blue orb of electricity attacked the prison Kula was located in, it malfunctioned and the glass shattered, water spewing all over the place, mostly on Benimaru. Before he could even complain about his wardrobe being dampened, the sound of Kula's slight yelp brought his attention back to where it needed. The young girl fell freely and willingly out of the capsule... and took a short drop before finding her way into Benimaru's waiting grasp. The moment she landed, she looked Benimaru squarely in the eye and sighed out a, "Thanks..."

"You can thank me later..." was all Benimaru replied with, not looking back towards the others. Before either of the others could talk, Vexx's booming voice interrupted everything.

"This ISN'T over! You will not get out of here, I guarantee it!"

"We're sure as hell going to try," Kyo shot back, instantly forgetting about Vexx and turning towards the way they came. "Things are just too weird now, and right now taking care of you isn't really something I look forward to. I don't know about you, K', but I'm out of here!"

"Tch, like I'd spend more time in this dump than I have to..." the N.E.S.T.S. rebel mumbled while recovering his shades. He then turned towards the downed Vexx, flipped him off, and, along with the others, began to high-tail it out of the base. However, none of them realized that Vexx wasn't giving chase. Instead, he just stood up, tapped on his communicator, and said, "All internal units. Intruders are retreating. Bring them down if you can..."

He then shut off, smiled to himself, and thought to himself...

_If they really think this is the last that they've seen of me, then they're mistaken. Our business isn't over yet, K'... It won't take me long to track you down again... Then I'll stomp you out once and for all. Next time we meet, I won't let you excape... and I WON'T be so easy on you._

Tong-An, China: 9:36 P.M.

"Phew! I can't remember a time when I ate so much! Please... tuck me in. I can't walk."

"Oh, stop joking around, Mitsumi..." Kaoru muttered. "You're just fine."

After a large village wide feast, Kaoru and Yui found themselves within the confines of Mitusmi's two story home located towards the edge of Tong-An for the remainder of the day. From then until night, the group discussed the matters at hand considering Rose's disappearance, Shadowloo, and the other events worldwide. Followed by that a dinner fixed by a girl who lived down the street, who practically insisted that she'd do so in thanks for the three running out the Shadowloo troops. By 9:30, it was official. Mitsumi was officially spent for the night.

Currently, the two young women were just arriving on the upper flat of the house where the bedrooms lay and the mountain girl was already in her nightgown, Kaoru still in her attire from earlier, travel bag over her shoulder.

"Lucky for you guys I have three bedrooms," she chaised. "I mean, I know that maybe you'd prefer sleeping with Yui, but I'm just saying that because most homes like this aren't as roomy."

Kaoru only nodded while stopping along with her partner at a door.

"Yaaaah... I think I'll leave you be now," the host yarned while stretching her arms over her head. "I'm exhausted. I just know that I'll be sleeping well tonight."

"Well, you do that. Don't forget, tomorrow morning we call my sister and meet up with her. Yui and I left her once we caught your call and she want on her search without us."

"Yeah, sure. Should be a blast mixing it up with the 'Strongest Woman in the World'. I haven't had much action until recently, so it should pick me up a bit. Well, see ya."

"Good night."

And with that the mountain girl disappeared behind the bedroom door. Almost immediately after the door closed, Kaoru turned around to the creaking of steps and caught the sight of her husband reaching the upper level.

"Ah, Kaoru. About to head to bed, darling?"

"Yes," she answered. "I'm going to meditate first, though, so if you don't mind I'm going to use the third bedroom just for tonight."

Yui took a short pause before responding. "That's alright with me. He then leaned forward and kissed his wife on the lips. "Sleep tight."

Giving a nod to confirm, Kaoru turned away and let Yui go into the room parallel to Mitsumi's, and once it closed she walked up the hall to the end to the last bedroom and entered it.

The surroundings of the room were quite exquisite, and from Kaoru's perspective, it seemed as if she was back at Rose Manor. Everything had an exotic, satanic red vibe to it from the window curtains to the shades in the lights and lamps. A moderate sized TV sat on a dresser in front of a queen sized bed outfitted in an almost dreamy, romantic way, yet tonight it soothed Kaoru's mind, getting the vibe right for some peace of mind. Dropping her bag onto the carpet, the traveler calmly sat on the bed, enjoying her comfort of the mattress below her bum. She then slipped out of her black sneakers and brought her legs up onto the bed, sitting in a butterfly position. After her eyes glanced around the room once more, appreciating the fact that no one was in the area besides herself, she calmed her breathing, rested in her "Indian" position, clasped her hands together in her lap and closed her eyes...

_Find your center... Focus your energy... Push everything else out of your mind and concentrate..._

For a while Kaoru sat perfectly still, only breathing as she surrounded herself in the darkness of her mind. As time slowly went on, the young woman could start to envision a purple and silver haze, as if she was surrounded by a eerie ring of fire; in reality her body began to glow in a purple and silver aura...

_My power... My gift... My curse..._

The embers surrounding Kaoru were in a raging hellfire, growing the risk of burning everything in its path, yet still, she kept her position, her mind purely on its target...

_Embrace it..._

Then, the rage of flames around the young woman began to soothe and Kaoru felt her entire body grow extremely calm...

_Control it..._

The flames now centered themselves in front of Kaoru, and began to lift off the floor, burning at the air as it shape shifted into a ball of sorts... before it duplicated and once again surrounded Kaoru in a ring of concentrated energy.

_That's it... What...?_

And instantly, Kaoru opened her eyes, her ki dropping, noticing a sudden disturbance in the atmosphere. She wasn't alone in the room...

...and instinctively she fell backwards onto the bed, just narrowly avoiding someone flying at her and landing on the carpet beside her bed...

...right in her eyesight... Through the dim lights of the room, Kaoru could make out a rather tall individual, slim, wearing blue and yellow with a snake running along the side... and his right hand was outfitted with three deadly claws...

"Who the hell are you?" Kaoru demanded, her blood quickly running hot as she stared at the individual. "How did you get in here?"

The stranger, who's back was to Kaoru, instantly gave off a "tsk, tsk". "Such a beautiful woman shouldn't leave her window open at night... Who knows what certain people could do to you if you expose yourself like that..."

Instantly Kaoru sat up, and jumped off the bed to the floor, readying herself to defend against this strange individual. However, the man only continued.

"Miss Kaoru Miadama... Yes... Without a doubt it is you... Just like the pictures we've collected of you four years ago visualized of you..."

"Four years ago...? You're a Shadowloo assassin, aren't you?"

The question was once again left unanswered...

"Just as pretty... Dare I say it...? Beautiful... Those dark black eyes... that shining black hair... that smooth, tanned skin... Quite a sight... There's just one problem with you..."

And with that, the tall man turned around, Kaoru gasping at the fact that she could clearly see the insane look in his eyes as he stared at her through his white mask... She knew this person, or rather, heard about him during her travels in Spain two years ago. The Spanish ninja...

_Vega..._

"You're... too beautiful... and I cannot let something more beautiful than me exist... so... for your sake, stand still. I'll be quick at... rearranging your figure..."

"Psychopath!" was all Kaoru shot back with, clenching her fists. "There's no way I'm letting you get what you want!"

"A shame... Then this job is going to be... 'messy'..."

Right afterwards, a shriek rang in the air, Vega now leaping through the air with incredible speed and preparing to attack. Kaoru was just barely able to dodge the slash, finding herself with her back against the wall... but not for long, for she ducked again, avoiding the claw as it rushed against the same place her head was...

However, Kaoru wasn't going to let Vega get away clean with his actions. The moment she dodged she retaliated with an uppercut right to his chest...

A move that was caught with Vega's free hand, and he forcibly held his target down, the two of them trading glances, Kaoru's half struggling and half pissed off, and Vega's just purely crazy.

"Oh, now I'd love to slice open that neck of yours... and paint this entire room a new coat of red..." the man snickered, his mask hiding his twisted smile. Kaoru responded with a loud shout and kicked him off, making Vega fall onto the bed himself and instantly she jumped up and planned to follow up with a fist to break his mask in two. However he was too quick, and rolled out of the way and back onto the floor. Kaoru immediately reacted by spinning on her arm and kicking out, and this caught the Spanish ninja off guard, her leg connecting hard at the side of his head. He turned around in recoil, but then turned right back around with a strike with his claw that was jumped over...

"Yoinokucki!"

Kaoru then shot down with a fast downward kick that connected once again to Vega's head, followed with a few more follow up kicks, the last one hitting hard in the stomach, making him double over. Once she landed, Kaoru delivered a hard fist to the chest, its force actually making Vega's body come off the floor a little... and then she swung with a haymaker-like blow with the right...

The next thing the Shadowloo assassin knew, he was crumpled against the wall in which contained the window he entered in, nursing his body with his free hand.

"This ought to teach you not to interrupt my meditation sessions... I bet your resources didn't tell you that I'm my strongest right after controlling my ki... I bet you expected this to be some minor task, huh? Think again."

_A young woman like her...? This powerful...? Ugh... I won't allow this to continue...!_

The traveler never let her eyes off Vega as he stood up, cautiously at first, then a little more boldly as Vega attempted to attack again...

"If you think that this is the best I got..." the matador began, "then you're mistaken horribly... You must not keep up with current affairs, Ms. Miadama..."

"What are you babbling about now...?"

"Hehe... THIS!"

No sooner did he finish did Vega's free hand rise up to his mask... and Kaoru gasped that he whisked it off...

"What in the...?"

...and the moment Vega revealed his face, a bright gleam emerged from his eyes... and Kaoru couldn't resist blinking... Once...

...and when her eyes opened again, Vega was gone...

The young woman immediately let out a growl and instantly went on the defensive.

"What type of trick is this, Vega?" she demanded, putting her senses on red alert for any type of ambush...

"Hehehehe...! Honestly... do you really think this is a trick? Let me show you how serious this attack IS!"

At first Kaoru began to turn around to see if she could pinpoint Vega's location due to his voice, but one thing made itself painfully obvious... She couldn't quite tell where he was...

"AAH!"

...until a swift slash connected with her backside, making her eyes grow wide from surprise and the sharp pain. Kaoru dropped to her knees, a hand instantly running across the area that was attacked... and found part of her shirt torn... and...

_Blood...! MY blood...!_

"That's right... Scream..." Vega's voice taunted from its unknown location. "I love your precious screams. They're music to my ears... And you blood only paints another lovely coating on this masterpiece..."

"Bastard..." Kaoru hushed, standing up fully and clenching her fists once again. "Making yourself invisible...?"

"You still don't understand..."

And once again, Kaoru gasped hard, as another slash struck her stomach, making her instantly fall to hand and knees, an arm covering up another opening...

"Hence, why you'll never be able to escape this attack..."

Another slash crossed both the front and back of her neck, and a sick gagging noise escaped the woman's throat, which could've been a scream if she wasn't hurting so badly...

"Too bad... Those wounds will never get a chance to heal once I'm done with you..."

At the moment, Kaoru was trying her best to drown Vega out, instead trying desperately to get a plan together... before she passed out from the loss of blood...

_Gotta... concentrate... Can't... let him... attack... again..._

Although her body was obviously protesting her trying to stand up, she did so anyway... forgetting about her wounds... It took her a few moments to get her balance, and then she knew that she'd be lucky enough to pull this off...

"You just don't learn... but at least it's nice that you're willing to lend yourself up, now... Now I'll finish this painting..."

Still ignoring Vega, Kaoru tucked her head down a little and closed her eyes... letting herself be surrounded by the darkness of her subconscious... As she did this, her mind felt dizzy, and she stumbled forward one step, but still managed to keep herself up...

_Can't... pass out... Focus, Kaoru..._

And then... silence...

Throughout all the pain she was enduring in such a short amount of time, the traveler kept her senses clear... just for this one moment...

...and then her eyes snapped open...

_THERE!_

In a blink of an eye, Kaoru spun around, just as the air sliced behind her, and reached out... and grabbed a good lock of Vega's golden hair, also dodging a deadly attack from his claw. It was all done in such speed that Vega's whole body was still going forward until it whip-lashed back, making him turn around to face a wounded yet extremely pissed Kaoru... his eyes wide in shock...

From here, Kaoru's free hand reached out and yanked Vega's mask clean off his head and threw it to the carpet, revealing his self-proclaimed "perfect" face... which was now heavily sweating from nervousness. From his standpoint, looking at Kaoru now was like looking at the old Bison head on...

For a while, no one made a move... until Vega began to lash an attack that was instantly stopped by Kaoru bringing her right hand right up to his face, instantly glowing a silver color from her building ki...

"Don't... move... or I'll blow... your head off..." was Kaoru's only warning, spoken in such a dark way that it actually made Vega stop breathing for a few precious moments. "Now... talk... Where's Bison located...?"

Before Vega could stammer out his response, Kaoru's door busted open, and instantly Mitsumi and Yui broke into the room, stopping once inside at the sight of their bloodied companion holding up a man that was roughly a foot taller than her by his hair... and at first, neither one of them could really reply to this. Then, Mitsumi broke the silence...

"What the HELL happened to you, Kaoru? Who is this guy...? And what happened to my guest room?"

"Do you really have to ask that...?" the younger woman replied matter-of-factly. The Chinese woman didn't reply (which was actually a first), and Yui just couldn't find the words to say at the moment. Kaoru then turned her full attention onto Vega, and repeated the question. "What happened to Rose? Where's Bison...? If you don't speak in the next 5 seconds... you're going to regret it... I'll thrash that face of yours so badly you'll want to kill yourself off."

"Bison is... dead..."

"...what...?"

For about 5 seconds, all three of Rose's disciples were speechless, unable to believe the news. Then Kaoru's face turned ugly and charged up her ki attack, Vega wincing in response.

"I don't believe you for a second!" she shouted. "I want the damn truth, or so help me—"

"Why would I lie to someone as beautiful as me...?" Vega's next comment came, abet shaky. "Shadowloo is no longer run by Bison..."

"Then who is...?" Yui asked, crossing his arms. However, before an answer could be established, Vega smirked lightly and then flipped out of Kaoru's grasp... and narrowly dodged Mitsumi's hand to grab him. He then skillfully back flipped all the way across the room and to the window...

"If you think I'm going to tell you that, then you're crazy," he replied. "If you want to know who it is, why don't you visit her personally...?"

"Ko...NO! (Why... YOU!)" Kaoru shouted, recovering from her unbalanced state and, along with Mitsumi, ran up to get Vega once again, but just as they reached him, he jumped out the window and up the tree housed right outside the house... Kaoru abruptly stopped at the wall, punching it in frustration that she couldn't continue pursuit, but Mitsumi jumped out as well, matching Vega's movements up the branches, the darkness of the night not hampering her a bit. Once they reached the top, Mitsumi reached again, but the matador just narrowly excaped it by jumping down... all the way down... to the grass below...

"Oh, no you DON'T!" Mitsumi screamed, positioning herself on the highest branch of the tree and holding up her hands into the air... and quickly, energy stared to form in her hands, forming a ball that was rapidly increasing in size...

"You will NOT GET AWAY FROM ME, VEGA!" her voice boomed in the night sky, her hyper attack now at completion... the golden orb of ki energy now so big it could've been mistaken for a model of the sun, pulsating lightning and flame streaks from its surface... and in a mighty yell, she threw her arms down towards Vega's retreating form... Vega, in turn, never looked back, for the now lightened area was enough of a warning to get out of dodge of the approaching Dragon Bomb. Mitsumi only looked on, panting, as the Suukou Ryuujin Bakudan rained down... and once it touched the ground, the orb exploded in a nuke-like manner, her ki spraying in all directions in a wild light show...

A few moments later, back into the house, where Yui was tending to Kaoru's wounds on the bed, Mitsumi hopped back into the room, her face aggravated...

"That bastard! How dare he show his face back here again after what happened last time...!"

"Last time...?" Yui asked.

"Yes..." Mitsumi sighed, resting her back on the wall while crossing her arms and looking down at the red carpet. "Not too long ago after I noticed that Rose was missing, he attacked me... I managed to hold him off for a long while but he grew to be too much... but he ran away once I attempted to tap into—"

"Don't... finish that..." Kaoru hissed. "Why didn't you tell me that this happened...?"

"I didn't know he worked for Shadowloo... In fact, I never knew about it... but that's besides the point. The fact of the matter is that he got away... but what do you make of what he said that he said that this Bison guy was dead?"

Both Kaoru and Yui kept silent, more so Kaoru, who couldn't quite get Bison's smiling image out of her head...

"He said, 'Meet her yourself...'" she whispered.

"And Rose did tell me that she was... somehow linked to this... Bison..." Yui announced. The three remained quiet for a while afterwards, and then Kaoru spoke.

"We have to meet back with Sakura... I have a bad feeling about all of this..."

"You can't possibly think that Rose could be—" Mitsumi shot back, but Yui cut both girls off.

"We're not going anywhere until morning. Kaoru, you're hurt, and you know that you need to rest in order to jump from continent to continent. We'll wait until you're healed up before we meet up with your 'sister'."

"...fine..." Yui's wife pouted before lying back down onto the bed, letting Yui finish bandaging up her wounds, "but I swear, we're going to get to the bottom of things, here... I'm not going to rest until I do."

Mitsumi nodded, and then turned her attention to the night sky that she had just lit up in a blaze not too long ago...

_Rose... Be ok... Please..._

Saebe, Japan: 10:05 P.M.

"Hmmmm... this is a perfect time for us to come to Saebe... Right when they're holding an all-day festival throughout the city... Didn't find a single thing pertaining to finding Shadowloo..."

"Hey, cheer up, guys. At least I got some solid coverage on the festival myself."

"Geez, Ran, would you focus?" Karin shot back, crossing her arms as she and the rest of the "Shadow Breakers" (the nickname the reporter gave their group), stood by on the night streets of Saebe, which were basked in a red and orange glow from the decorations and lights that wrapped as far as the eye could see. Floats and people littered the area, the air filled with the sound of traditional Japanese music along with the cheers and other random sounds from the crowd. However, amongst the joyous festivities, the Breakers weren't really enjoying the mood. Well, all except Ran, who spent most of the day photographing as much as she could. Besides that, the others, Chun-Li and Ace being in front, looked for traces of any activity that could lead them to their target, and ultimately they were left empty handed...

"Karin," Chun-Li opened up, "are you sure the Zaibatsu recorded activity here?"

"Positive. The Zaibatsu has never driven me wrong. Perhaps they're really playing it low and we have to search harder and deeper."

"Well, we shouldn't stress the need to find success," Hinata advised, "It's only the first day, and if I'm right, Bison's not going to let us find him so easily, that's for sure. It'll be the other way around at least. That was always how it worked with us."

"Yes, well, that may be true in your case, but the fact remains that we have _some _sort of confirmation that Shadowloo is here somehow," Ace said. "Although we haven't gotten any records from Interpol about Saebe, we shouldn't take that chance on passing it up."

The others in the group complied...

"Ah, but I'm tired..." Sakura mumbled quietly. "We've been at this getup all day since we arrived, and right now I really hate myself for not grabbing something to eat for dinner. It's past 10, so I think we should pack it up at least until tomorrow morning."

"Fine. That sounds like a good idea." Chun-Li agreed, turning her attention from the festival and beginning to head back. "We should get something to get and get some rest."

"Alright! That's more like it!" Ran smiled, packing her camera into her carrying bag hanging from her shoulder. "I'm famished! All this walking does take it out of you."

Batsu fought to retaliate at Ran's comment as their troupe began to depart from the busy streets. As they turned a corner, which was less congested with civilians, Sakura (who was leading the pack) began to speak.

"So what do you guys have in mind? I really don't care what I eat, as long as it's good!"

"In that case, you can wait until we get to the plane," her blond-haired rival suggested. "You know my personal chef makes some great dishes."

"But I don't think he's prepared to serve up a good 10 people at once," came Akira's input. "I think I remember this area, though when I was with Daigo years ago on one of his travels. There should be a nice spot somewhere around here that we could try out."

"Oh, yeah?" Darrell asked. "You remember what they serve?"

Before Akira could answer that, Sakura suddenly let out a gasp and stumbled backwards, Kyosuke and Ace thinking fast to break her fall. The Breakers found themselves at another intersection, and they found out that a certain young girl was also sitting on her rear, obviously rushing and not watching where she was going. The girl was a black-hair, worn short and rather shabby like, and she wore blue, shaded jeans along with a pink designer shirt, a small white traveling back on her shoulder. Her eyes were a bit wide at first, as if in shock, and simply stared at the large group of fighters that she stumbled on...

And Sakura noticed that her focus was mostly on herself...

"...I... must be dreaming..." the girl said out loud. "are you really...?"

The others just stared at the young girl as her eyes began to sparkle with enjoyment, then, before anyone could make heads or tails of the matter, she sprung up, just as Sakura pushed off Kyosuke and Ace, and dove into her, her arms circling tightly around her waist...

"H... hey!" the cherry blossom fighter yelped. "What's this all about...?"

"It must be you! No question about it! I have all your posters and everything! I knew I'd find you one day, but I didn't expect it to be now... Wow...! I can't believe I'm hugging my idol!"

"Whoa, whoa...! Slow down! Are you telling me that you're—"

"Uh-huh!" the girl cut her off, nodding her head as she looked Sakura in the eye. "I'm your biggest fan! I always was even before you won that tournament! I always looked up to how you stood up to any challenge, and I always thought that one day I'd grow up to be just like you!"

"Admirer, eh...?" Darrell mumbled into his wife's ear. Sakura made a slight face and then turned her attention to the girl.

"And your name would be...?"

"Jan Kaito," she said brightly.

"Well, Jan..." Chun-Li started, "you mind telling us why you were in such a rush? It should be time for someone like you to be in bed and ready for school tomorrow, right?"

"Well... you see..." she began, her voice growing a little timid upon being asked that question, however, she was cut off...

"THERE SHE IS! THAT'S THAT SKANK THAT ROBBED ME!"

"ROBBED?" everyone for the exception of Ace shot back, their attention growing over to a small mob of guys that found they way to the Breakers, the man in front the bigger of the group. He wore casual clothing and looked to be quite a strong body builder and the like, and the others weren't any less off... Instantly the Breaker's glances shot to Jan, and she immediately defended herself.

"Don't listen to him! He's the one who pulled me into a fight that I didn't want any part of, and he said that if I could knock him down for ten counts, then I'd get a prize. He started to cheat, so I kicked him where he deserved it! Ten counts, like he said, and then his buddies tried to gang up on me, so I took his money from his pocket and ran!"

"Is this true?" Chun-Li demanded the head of the mob, who instantly twitched and backed up a step, as if to notice who she was...

"I take your hesitation as a 'yes', then..."

"Geez, you'd think we'd have enough problems on our hands without little nuisances like this around," Batsu murmured, and all the Breakers faced the mob, who was now stepping backwards from the force of World Warriors.

"Although you're not my main objective and aren't worth Interpol's time..." the Chinese agent started, "I think the local authorities should have something interesting right here... Consider yourself under arrest."

"Tch! Not in this lifetime! Everyone bail out!"

And on the call, the small mob pulled a 180 and scampered out the other way as fast as they could, making every member of the Breakers except Chun-Li sweatdrop.

"Just... odd..." Ran muttered. Chun-Li then began to move forwards, thinking about handling the entire mob herself, but Darrell cut her off.

"Shall I take the honors? These guys aren't worth you sweating over."

Chun-Li blinked a little and then smirked. "Sure. Why not?"

Letting out a laugh, Darrell, along with a volunteering Batsu, Sakura, Hinata, and Kyosuke, all took formation side-by-side, each one charging up a super ki attack...

"Saishuu..."

"Nekketsu..."

"Zenkai..."

"Haaai..."

"Ahhhh..."

"WAIT! I got it!"

All 5 ex-Rival Schoolers gasped as Jan shot out from between Sakura and Darrell, her right leg glowing a blueish tint as she hopped forward...

"HURRICANNA!"

...and she kicked out hard... and in an event that made everyone in the Breakers grow wide-eyed, the attack stirred a huge wavelike attack from Jan's leg and the ground at the same time, and it moved so fast the mob wasn't able to step ahead two steps before it struck, sending everyone all about the area and in a mess on the ground... Jan herself only rubbed her nose with her thumb and pumped up an arm, making a miniature muscle.

"Oh, yeah! Now that's the perfect way to treat bad guys! That was awesome, if I do say so myself! What do you think, Ms. Kasugano...? Um...? Ms. Kasugano...?"

The black-haired girl spun around quizzly and stared blankly at the large stares from the Breakers, all aimed at her... and all she did to respond with was shrug.

"What?"

For about 5 seconds no one responded... until Hinata broke it.

"That was... pretty good..."

Jan only blinked herself. "You act like you guys haven't done better than that..."

"That's besides the point," Sakura cleared up. "For someone like you... that was... just great. Since when did you learn something like that?"

The young girl simply rubbed the back of her head and looked at the ground sheepishly. "I... sorta picked it up..."

Sakura then smiled, making Jan's heart grow jittery. "Well, for someone so young that was sure some attack. You keep that up, and I'm sure you'll be a contender in the circuit in no time."

"Thanks, Ms. Kasugano."

"Oh, please. You're not one of my students. You can just call me Sakura, Jan."

Jan immediately nodded. "Sure. No problem."

Before Sakura could keep the conversation going, Karin came from behind and tapped her on her shoulder...

"Come on, Sakura. We still do have to find something to eat. We gotta go."

The cherry blossom girl nodded. "Ok."

"Wait!" another sudden yell came from the young girl. "Sakura, I... I left home so I could learn from you..."

That quote alone was so... familiar to the cherry blossom girl that she instantly remembered it... because a good decade ago she said the same thing to that man... Ryu... and although she didn't say anything in response, she did make a face. Rubbing her arm shyly, she looked at Jan and replied, her voice low.

"Jan... I don't know how to say this, but... this is a bad time. I mean, I wouldn't mind teaching you, but at the moment I have some important matters to handle and I can't risk you getting hurt. Perhaps at a later time, but right now, you're going to have to wait on me."

Halfway through that statement, Sakura's little admirer frowned and once she finished, she immediately retaliated with, "Ohhh... I traveled all the way from Otaru to see you... I don't want to go back emptyhanded..."

"I'm sorry, Jan..."

"Hmm... and your parents know you're gone...?" Chun-Li interrupted, putting her hands on her hips. This question made Jan bite her lower lip and solemnly reply...

"Well... not really..."

This made Chun-Li sigh. _How come I knew that she'd be like a young Sakura all the way up to sneaking out of the house to travel the world without her parents knowing...?_

Without anyone else noticing it, the Interpol agent walked forward and grabbed Jan's hand, making her gasp a little, and she continued to walk forward...

"Chun-Li...?" Karin asked. "What are you doing with her...?"

"I guess we don't have much of a choice than to let her come along. Taking her back is going to be a waste of all our time and hers, especially since she reminds me so much of Sakura when she was her age, and that if we do take her back, she's just going to find another way to get out..."

After letting that sink in, Sakura nodded in acceptance. "Yeah, and I know first-hand how it felt when the person you want to teach you doesn't have the time. Don't worry about a thing, Jan. I guess we'll fit things in after a while. For now, why don't you just accompany us to dinner?"

"Sure! That sounds awesome!" the young girl chimed, grasping hold tight to her bag as she walked with the group, overhearing Ran say to Akira and Hinata, "I guess we have another member to the Shadow Breakers, huh?" She smiled lightly to herself before looking up into the night sky and letting out a sigh of relief.

_Now that I'm with these guys, hopefully those two guys will stop following me..._

"You say something, Jan?" Chun-Li asked, and Jan gasped, not realizing that she mumbled out her thought under her breath. Instantly she shook her head in denial, and sprouted an, "Oh, nothing..."


	12. Meetings

_**Chapter 12: Meetings**_

**London, England: 11:15 A.M.**

A somewhat elderly yet physically built man marched his way through the corridors of Delta Red; his dark green uniform riddled with numerous medals he had received from over the years. His black eyes; dull yet sharp, kept on the watch as he found his way in this section of the base. On both sides of the corridor were various areas that were designed to train the operatives in the vicinity. The man wasn't here for mere observation, however. He was called here by section T-5; who were convinced they found the people he needed to look into Shadowloo.

Yes, today he'd have a personal look at them...

The man, a high-rank general, finally stopped his trek at a room near the end of the current corridor. The glass that made up the room was transparent enough for him to make out some individuals in the room.

"Let's have a look..." he said to no one in particular. And with that he stepped inside... The room he emerged in was relatively large. Where the entrance was convenient enough and seemed to be a waiting room-like vicinity, just beyond that lay another interior area that was, at the moment, barren.

"James. Rachel. Jeice. Morris. Attention."

The four members of the T-5 section were definitely in the room; all of them stopping their current procedures and turning around to acknowledge the superior in the room.

"It's a pleasure for you to join us, General Taylor," welcomed Rachel, who was now stationed at a computer monitor connected to the secondary room.

"I've gotten word that you recruited two new members to your young division to tackle the Shadowloo issue, am I right?"

"Yes. That is why we called for you. We wanted you to see them at work. I'm pretty sure they will surprise you just like they did us."

"Hmm..." the man replied while rubbing his chin. "You seem very confident about their abilities being that they have only been here for two days."

"Hey, you said to give us 48 hours," James reminded with a smirk on his face, "and we got the job done."

"Well, then. Let's see what you got then. Where are they?"

"They're coming right now..." Jeice mumbled. Although still he couldn't get over what was happening lately, he still couldn't hide the fact that he was at least a little impressed himself. "Drake! Noel! Showtime! Come meet one of our main superiors."

All attention turned over to the side room towards the right... and it didn't take long for the General to grow wide-eyed at what he was seeing. Of all the things he could have expected, seeing _this _was definitely not one of them. In standard Delta Red uniforms were two teenagers, both blond and very identical in looks outside of the fact that they were opposite genders. In fact, they seemed under the Delta Red age limit by about 2 years or so. Despite that, they didn't act the part; the two of them being respectful to their commander by approaching them and saluting.

"Drake White..." the boy started, looking up at Taylor with a serious tone.

"...and Noel White," the girl ended. "Both prepared for duty."

Taylor at first merely returned the gesture, then gave the rest of the section a look as if to say, "What's the explanation for this?" Rachel only nodded her head once and answered, "These two young kids are the offspring of legendary Delta Red operative, Cammy White, who has been reported captured by Shadowloo. They managed to sneak by our defenses by off basic instinct two days ago around the time of our meeting and they wish to not only rescue their mother but as well as bring down Shadowloo as well. Don't be fooled by their looks, General. Their capabilities and skills far exceed their age."

"Well... I think that it'll be best that we see what they have to offer," Taylor advised. "Since we are in one of our better training rooms, I think I'll test them."

On instinct both White twins accepted the test, giving their superior a confirming nod before turning to Rachel, the one in charge of the technical support of the T-5 section, and said, "Ready."

"You two know what to do."

It didn't take them long for them to step into the secondary section of the training room, where Rachel was commencing operations to begin. Once she was done with the preparations, she turned to the communicator and spoke to the twins, who were now turning on the small headset-like communicators in their ears.

"Alright. This is mission #37. Find your way through the course by any means and defeat the boss up ahead. Use whatever you have in your disposal to accomplish the goal. You will not be penalized on time, but please accomplish it in under 10 minutes. If you cannot, the simulation will shut down. Let me know when you are ready to start."

"We're always ready," Drake responded back, getting ready to start along with his sister; their eyes square on the long obstacle track ahead of them. The rest of the people in the area looked on as Rachel initiated the operation... then her voice shouted in their communicators.

"Begin!"

No sooner did her voice come did the surroundings around the White twins begin to change. Parts of the walls began to give way and transform to military firearms, none of them wasting time in giving off a heavy assault of bullets. On instinct Noel and Drake shot forwards, the hailstorm just missing their boots. As the two dodged and weaved through the barrage, Taylor had a firm look on his face.

"Their speed is amazing... I haven't seen anything like that since Cammy was with Delta Red..."

Just as the duo avoided the last of the cannon fire, another obstacle was right in front of them. In the area beyond them (which was now beginning to escape the confines of the room and stretch towards the outside of the base, alongside a vehicle entrance to the base) rested about 6 bulls eye targets, all guarded by member of Delta Red. General Taylor recalled them as being members of the elite section who would volunteer on such escapades...

"We're splitting up," Noel informed Rachel, and with that the siblings broke off, Drake going left and Noel going right, beginning to engage in conflict with the Delta Red elites. It was here that Taylor definitely kept a sharp eye out on their skills...

"Hey, pal!" Drake shouted, approaching his first target and guard, wearing a smirk on his face. "I bet you never saw THIS, have you?"

Just as he got close, the guard began to grab him, as if this was a simple matter. However, Drake ducked down and slid under his legs, getting up as quickly as he could, clenching his right fist and preparing to strike.

"ShotGUN!" he called, and then threw his right fist ahead, the attack bursting into purple flames as it collided with his opponent's back, making the guard stumble a little forwards before he fell on his face. He turned back around just in time to see Drake yank down the bull's eye and give him a joking salute before he raced out of his sight. On the other side, Noel was still rushing towards her target, which was suspended on a crane quite a bit high into the air. Her guard was stationed just below it, armed with a fire rifle, and on sight the woman ducked down and set her sights on Noel. However, the moment she fired thrice, Noel dodged to the left, then to the right, and finally jumped, landed on the woman's shoulders, totally surprising her, and used her for leverage, leaping as high as she could so she could nab the second target and keep going. Her second target was just in front of here, hidden behind a small barricade of tanks. Although no one was manning them, three members of the elite force stood in front of her, prepared to stop her. Noel noticed this a second before she went into the area, and sprinted again. This time, the moment she stepped forward a blinding flash spread across the area, the guards unable to pick off Noel's location. By the time the quick flash went away, the White girl was behind them, quickly grabbing the third target and kept her pace.

As Noel was doing this, Drake found himself at the fourth target, resting right on the guard's chest, literally. Pausing a bit to think, Drake let the guard lunge at him to try to immobilize him with his weapon; a stun-gun/tazer.

"Come on," the kid began, "You're making this too easy on me!"

As the guard shot his weapon forward, Drake moved to the left, swatted the attack away, and opted to just grab the target from the man's chest. However, this was cancelled as the guard attacked again with his free hand. At an awkward position, Drake had no choice but to block it, pushing himself away from his target. The moment he recovered his assailant lunged at him with a kick.

Drake let out a "Tch!" and slid forward once again, this time letting his leg trip the attacker as well as grab the target from his chest, and in similar fashion as the other one, he bid him adieu, still racing forwards. At this moment the two separate paths joined up again and the Whites wordlessly conjoined again. By this time General Taylor was more or less impressed by the skill being displayed... but there was still one more little obstacle for them to overtake...

"Noel! Drake!" Rachel's voice said over their headsets. "Be careful. Your last two targets are being guarded by the boss. Proceed with necessary caution."

"Gotcha," Noel responded, the two of them stopping just as they found themselves far into the outside area of the base. The blue sky above them was just a nice surrounding along with the rest of the area, the ground a hard concrete. This area was normally used to deploy vehicles in and out of the base, but for now... it was being occupied by only one thing besides the twins... Before them stood somewhat of a large robot, or most specifically a cyborg. This "thing", which resembled something like that of a science fiction movie, was one of the newest innovations to Delta Red technology due to some stolen ideas from Shaodwloo not too long ago, and was now being used as practice.

"The two targets lie within his chest," Rachel replied. "You'll have to figure out a way to retrieve them."

The two twins looked at each other for a moment and then the cyborg, then Noel spoke into the communicator. "Requesting permission to terminate the cyborg."

"Permission granted. Remember the objective. Accomplish it by any means."

"Roger that," Drake ended enthusiastically. He then turned to his sister and continued with, "You heard the lady, sis."

Noel smirked. "Let's give it to this bucket of bolts."

The two then turned their attention to their target and then shot forwards, the cyborg responding by pointing out its right arm and pelting out gunfire, aiming at Noel. As skillfully as she could, the girl twin kept her pace, the trail of bullets bouncing off the ground. This distracted the robot from Drake, who was now in close. He then quickly spun around and gave the chest a hard kick to the stomach, expecting it to shatter completely. Instead it cracked just a little. He then had to roll away before he could add another since his target swung at him with its opposite arm.

"His hide's tough..." he commented in the headset.

"But not tough enough," Rachel reminded him. "That metal won't withstand too much pressure. Keep aiming at his chest."

"No problem. Noel! Keep him distracted! I'll attack it!"

"Don't worry about me! I got my end under control! WHOA!"

Noel's heart almost skipped a beat as the cyborg's back emitted a lighting current right in front of her, and she had to roll towards her right to avoid that as well as the seemingly endless amount of gunfire from its cannon.

"TOO close for comfort..." she sighed, now retaining her pace. "Drake, I'm adding in the assault. The sooner we shut this thing down the least likely I'm going to come out fried!"

Drake didn't respond, this time avoiding the melee attacks the stationary cyborg was giving while also trying to attack it. Just as he avoided an attack to his head, he dashed forward, his elbow out...

"Needle Spike!"

...and stuck the damaged chest of the robot with it, ending the attack with a spinning somersault kick. The flames that aided his attack had an odd effect on the target, rendering it immobile... Noel noticed this quickly and eased up a little at the ceasing of gunfire.

"Alright, Drake!" she congratulated. "Let's finish it off!"

"No problem," her brother smirked, gathering up his energy to complete his next attack. "Hope you're ready for this!"

"Let's go! SPIN DRIVE SMASHER!"

"SPIKE BLITZ!"

At the call, both twins shot forward, each one covered in a purple blaze, attacking the cyborg with a Cannon Drill from Noel and a Needle Spike from Drake, ending with rising kicks from both of them. As the two bounced off, the cyborg began to short circuit from the flames, and suddenly it gave off an explosion, the two twins only watching on...

"Such power for young kids..." the General said in awe. The others in the sector just looked on in accomplishment as the twins looked on at the gap in the robot's chest. Resting inside were the last of the targets... which they grabbed joyously and held in their hands.

"Sweet. Now that's what I call a workout!" Drake commented.

"Says you," Noel replied. "I hardly broke a sweat."

"Ha! Are you kidding? You almost wet yourself when the robot shot that electric current out!"

"Hey, you're lucky your head wasn't knocked clean off your shoulders! Not that it could, you being such a blockhead and all."

Drake could've kept up the sibling squabbling, but instead he paused and smirked at his sister, Noel doing the same. The two then flashed out of sight, thanks to Noel's White Snow, and in an instant they found themselves back where the others were...

"Excellent show, you two," James congratulated. "Even when we spiced things up with that robot at the end and the elite force, you two still got the record time on that exercise."

"Really?" Drake asked. Jeice and Morris both nodded and Rachel only smiled at them.

"Indeed," she said. "All of that was done in a course of 4 minutes and 10 seconds. You beat out the original record by a good 2 minutes."

"Yes!" the "older" twin yelled out, getting psyched. "Now that's what I call cool!"

"Whites," General Taylor interrupted, causing both twins to turn their attention to him. "Despite your age, Rachel was right about you. You did surprise me by how well you handled the exercise. Blowing through those members of the elite squad was also quite impressive. I will personally overrule the age clause of Delta Red so that you can stay under the wing of sector T-5. T-5, you're responsible for uncovering the intensions of Shadowloo. Further details shall come to you when the need arises. Until then, there is a Shadowloo operation nearby in Manchester that needs to be discovered and brought down. I entrust that you will be able to do that?"

"Yes, sir!" Noel said confidently. "You don't have to worry about a thing. We're going to make sure to it that this Shadowloo will pay for taking our mother away from us. You'll just see."

General Taylor then saluted to the others in the room before making his exit. The way things seemed, he was sure that they'll be able to get the job done.

**Saebe, Japan: 12 Noon**

Meanwhile, about half across the globe, the blue skies over Saebe were being flown by a large silver aircraft, the ship in which the Shadow Breakers were aboard. Inside, Chun-Li was busy looking at the latest Interpol update on Shadowloo along with Ace, via the computer device that was built into Ace's jacket arm.

"Hmm... It seems that this once Karin's Zaibatsu wasn't accurate," Ace commented. "There weren't any readings of activity in Saebe. So far everything looks very decent over the entire country."

"I highly doubt that..." Chun-Li replied. "The report we're reading hasn't been updated for today. It shows that another report should be coming within the hour, so keen an eye out."

"Yes..."

"Any luck yet?"

The two Interpol agents looked up from their focus to catch Karin approach them from the front of the ship. Ever since she woke up today everyone noticed the hint of disappointment that resulted from the wild goose chase the Kanzuki Zaibatsu put her on. She spent the last hour and a half in direct contact with the people in charge of it, and just recently put everything within it under control. However, she hasn't spoken to anyone on board until now, and her expression was just as serious as the one on Chun-Li's face.

"We're waiting on the latest news from Interpol," the Chinese agent reported to Karin. "We're just looking over the last report for any nearby sightings. The next batch of information should be coming before 1."

"Fine," came the Kanzuki woman's abet stern reply. "I want to make sure we don't go astray anymore. I'm still not quite sure what is going on with the Zaibatsu. This isn't the first time it malfunctioned lately..."

"Don't worry yourself too much over it," Ace suggested. "Incidents like this happen."

"Yes, I know this," Karin replied, now sitting along with the agents onboard. "My point is that the Zaibatsu hasn't had this many frequent errors in its readings. I mean, just recently the database went a little out of operation, then it misreads the Shadowloo activity point. It has never been like this, and the ones running it back at the complex claim that they're doing as well as they can like always on it. Its state of the art technology, but it sure hasn't been acting like it."

"Hmm... Well, Karin, all you really can is rely on the people in charge of the Zaibatsu," Chun-Li said, her voice now trying to soothe Karin. "They're the best your money has to offer; you know that much."

"Yes, you're right about that..." Karin sighed while nodding. "I just need to relax; that's all..."

Both Chun-Li and Ace nodded, just as a slight beeping noise arose from Ace's high tech jacket. All three gazed upon the monitor, read the first lines of the report... and their eyes narrowed.

"Or not," the owner of the plane muttered. "Looks like we found our real hotspot..."

Meanwhile...

"Haiiiiiiiiiiii...YAAAAAAHH!"

_thud_

A fist rocketed forwards and found its way into an awaiting hand opposite of its direction.

"That's good, but you're forcing it too much," came the voice of the current World Warrior champion, Sakura. "Let your attack flow out freely and don't focus on just hitting as hard as you can."

"Ok, Sakura," came the attacker, Jan's, reply. The young girl wore a mere sleeveless tee-shirt along with a pair of shorts along with her white sneakers and gloves. Sakura, on the other hand, wore sweatpants in conjunction to her red sneakers and tank top. The two were in a rather large area towards the back of the aircraft, built for battles, training practices, and other related activities. As of now, they were the only two in the steel incased room, the sunlight beeming through the large windows on both sides of the plane.

The two had spent the last 5 minutes or so training, and 10 minutes before that stretching. Although they've only been at this for about that long, Jan was already developing a light sweat while Sakura was 100 percent. The younger of the two then brought her fist back and entered her fighting stance again. Sakura then braced herself, a hand out to catch Jan's attack. A second later, Jan shouted again, throwing her fist out against to attack Sakura's hand. As it landed, Sakura let out a small breath through her nose.

"Better," she congratulated. "That's the way. The secret to fighting is to let your soul go along with your attacks and movements. If you think about dealing damage or dodging too much, then you'll lose your edge. You don't want that, especially against guys like you ran into last night."

Jan only nodded, once again settling herself and preparing to let out another attack.

_I'll show her... _she thought silently to herself. _If I'm being trained by Sakura, I just know that I'll beat her._

"Haaa...!" the black haired girl then brought out her fist again, her sights on Sakura's palm, and prepared to attack again, only before she could, Sakura stopped her.

"Just a second..."

"Huh?" Jan blinked, stopping herself. Sakura then stood up straight, relaxed, and spoke again.

"I don't want to seem to rush... but... if you're like me, I most certainly think that you can do this. Since you've learned that powerful move you used last night at such a young age... then I'd like to pass this move down to you."

Sakura then smirked and got as close to Jan as she could, standing by her side...

"Watch me... Abet, I only used this attack once... when I first fought Darrell... but for someone like you... I think you can find use for it..."

Jan's eyes then began to light up at what she was hearing and seeing. "You're teaching me a new move...?"

The Cherry Blossom fighter nodded, now smiling at Jan. She then closed her eyes and focused on her ki. As she did so, her hands came from her sides to her front of her face, crossing one another. Jan could quickly sense her teacher's ki start to build as she talked back to her.

"For this... you have to concentrate your energy on your fists... Make it become one with them... Don't forget about what I said about channeling your spirit and soul..."

Now Sakura's gloved hands began to glow a white tint, making Jan's eyes grow sparkles in her pupils...

"And once it's ready... and you can feel when it's ready..."

Sakura then brought her arms up above her head, her fists now glowing a bright white/blue...

"HA!"

...and then swooped them down and to her sides again. Jan grew amazed at the fact that Sakura's fists now were a steady white/blue, almost in the form of small blazes. As the World Warrior champion relaxed once again, Jan just had to know.

"Whoa...! I never seen this move before! Since when did you learn that?"

"I modeled this move after my husband's Shakunetsuken," Sakura replied. "I only used this move once, and I called it the Ougi Hadouken. However... I want to pass this technique down to you. I'd like you to call it whatever you'd like it... but first, you must do what I did. If you can do your Hurricanna, then this should be a piece of cake to you."

"Ok. Sure, no problem."

As Sakura instructed, Jan sighed while closing her eyes, calming her nerves while concentrating her ki into her fists. Sakura only looked on, her fists still powered by her ki, as Jan dropped her head a little and brought her hands above her head. Although the stance was different from Sakura's, the effect was the same, Jan's hands now slowly starting to glow a solid blue...

"I can feel it..." she whispered as her glowing hands began to intensify. "My hands... They're warm..."

Sakura kept her silence, looking on with delight as Jan let her spirit guide her actions. Her hands came down from their post and began to move around in front of her, the trail of blue ki sticking in the air as she stroked a kanji symbol in front of her...

"I call this move of mine... '_Umi... Enpawaamento'_..."

Jan's eyes then opened to see the vision of her words spelled out by her hands. She then smiled, just as the words vanished in front of her eyes, and then gazed at her hands, laughing as she did so.

"Wow... This is so cool...! Thanks, Sakura..."

"Don't mention it, Jan," Sakura smiled back. A good half-second later, a sudden burst of wind swept through the room, catching Jan completely off guard.

"Hey...! There're no windows open here!" she yelled while covering her eyes with her hand. "What's going on...!"

"Don't worry about that..." she managed to hear from Sakura. "That's just my 'sister'..."

"Your what...?"

Jan then managed to open her eyes, and as if it were magic, realized that three more individuals in the room just a few feet away from her...

"'Sis'..." the black-haired Japanese woman, the one in the middle, welcomed. Jan then looked up to her teacher to see her put her hands on her hips and give her attention to the visitor.

"Hey, Kaoru! I knew you'd make it back here soon enough. It's nice to see you two, as well, Yui and Mitsumi."

Yui, the silver-haired young man and the tallest out of the group, waved once while Mitsumi, the long-braided Chinese girl smiled while giving Sakura a mere gesture. Kaoru, on the other hand, was the least bit happy, her face a dark, serious tone. In Jan's eyes, it was hard to believe just to think that Kaoru and Sakura was the least bit related. However, she could only take Sakura's word for it.

Sakura noticed the expression on her little 'sister's' face, and it made her frown. "Kaoru...? Is something the matter...?"

Kaoru kept quiet a little, approaching Sakura, and once she was close, she spoke.

"We've... ran into some... critical problems the other night..." she said, her voice low. Before she kept going, she then noticed Jan, and let her eyes lay on the young girl below her. This made Jan stiffen a bit, not able to make out what was going through the older woman's mind as she stared at her. Kaoru then looked back at Sakura and asked, "Who is she?"

"Her name's Jan, Kaoru," Sakura answered proudly. "She's my '#1 fan', as we say it, and we met the other night, taking out a small mob. For a little girl, she's not that bad as a fighter. I was training her before you came about."

"Oh... I see it, then..." Kaoru paused again, thinking of what to say, and then found it. "Sakura... Do you think its smart taking her with us...? You know what we'll eventually be doing once we get the chance..."

"Yes, I know that," the older of the two answered back. "This is why I'm teaching her some techniques and skills. The more she knows, the better she can help us out."

Kaoru looked at Jan one more time, this time her eyes softening quite a bit. In a chain reaction the youngest of the group sighed a little and relaxed. After a few moments, Kaoru once again returned to her older 'sister'.

"Yeah, I can feel it, too... She's quite gifted... but enough about that now. I have some news that I don't think you're going to like."

That quote alone made Sakura's eyes turn hard. "What happened to you last night...? You know I can sense that you're not quite 100 there."

"I got ambushed by a Shadowloo assassin that night," the traveler muttered. "He got me pretty good, but I'll be fine..."

"An assassin...?"

"Yeah... That cheap-ass Spanish matador..."

Sakura didn't speak again, and it didn't take a genius to know why. Kaoru then sighed and continued.

"Obviously Shadowloo's starting to really heat up, now. They know that we're coming after them. If they assigned Vega to come after me, then you know that you guys aren't going to have it any better. Whoever's behind this is really serious."

"Wait a second..." the cherry blossom cut her 'sister' off. "What do you mean by 'whoever's behind this'...?"

"Sakura..." Kaoru muttered, her voice a little low as she thought about what Vega said to her, and she still can't believe what she was about to say. "Bison... is... not behind this..."

"Nani...!" Sakura shot back. The words barely made sense to her, and what came next was no better.

"In fact... he's dead," the younger of the two talking broadened the subject. "There's a woman behind this... I don't know any more besides that, but it's pretty obvious that Bison isn't a woman... unless he turned into a bitch or something..."

"Kaoru, if you're telling me that... then..."

However, before Sakura could finish, a voice shot over the plane's PA system. On closer observation, everyone identified it as Karin's.

"Everyone on-board, listen up. We got our first solid bit of information. We're stopping at Kyoto. We're positive that this is what we're looking for. We should be there in a few hours. This time we're not going to leave until we find something, so prepare to stay there a little. That's all for now."

Once the message was done, Sakura and Kaoru exchanged glances once again...

"This is it, then..." Sakura said quietly. Kaoru only nodded.

"I'm going to find the others and let them know the news," the 'younger' sister said. "We should probably make sure everyone else is really up to speed in case things get messy. As you can see..."

Kaoru then turned her back to both Sakura and Jan and lifted her shirt up... warranting a "Geez!" shout from the younger girl as she noticed the numerous healing scars riddled across her back.

"...they're most certainly not pulling anything back this time."

**Tokyo, Japan: 1: 30 P.M**

"You're kidding me! You'd think that after traveling all the way here, we'd find at least one of them, but instead, nothing! What a bummer."

"You see, Yun? You need to at least call someone before you decide to drop by and visit."

"Don't start with me now, Hoimei..."

"What did you say, Yun?"

"Hey, you two, get a grip. We have more important things to worry about. We need to either find a new lead or find out where Sakura and the others went."

"Where _could_ they have went, Yin? You saw the news yourself. Sakura and Darrell should be nursing their injuries. Where the heck could they have went hurt like that?"

As Yin only shrugged her shoulders, Yang and Shaomei only stood by and watched. The Lee Dragons were currently in Sakura's home town, Tokyo, now located in the crowded areas downtown. The day was a Saturday, which meant that loads of people were going to be shopping and enjoying themselves. However, the group was here for more reasons than that. Sure Hoimei convinced the others to let them relax and buy some clothes and such for her to wear for the season, but still, Yun, Yang, and Yin were on a search for the current Street Fighter champion and any one of her companions and family members, but unfortunately there seemed to be absolutely no trace of them. They stopped at her house as well as the Kanzuki Complex, but instead all they were able to come away with was that they had left on their own search for the people responsible for this mess...

"We're at a dead end, here..." Yang reported, the group stopping at a busy intersection. "We need a new lead."

"Maybe we should've asked that guy at the Complex where exactly they went," Yin suggested.

"We did that, remember?" Yun muttered. "All he told us was that they went south. Not much to work with there..." He then looked around and sighed. "There's no need for us sticking around here. We need to split. The longer we waste time just standing around, the more time those guys get away with."

Not necessarily waiting for a reply from the others, the oldest Dragon then turned sharp right on the intersection and started to walk... ill-advisedly with his cap over his head. He didn't take two steps before bumping forcibly into someone...

"Hey!" he shouted, back-pedaling a step to see who he walked into. His eyes found their target; a young woman around Yin's age and size only even thinner, sprouting an unusual blond-esque hair color worn short and shabby, and in normal street clothes. She didn't seem startled by the contact; she merely looked at Yun from the corner of her eye, her face reading off a bit of an intimidating look. She didn't say anything at first, so that gave Yun ample time to so do himself. Fortunately, it didn't take long...

"You mind watching out for other people? Geez... talk about being sour..."

The woman didn't respond for a moment, keeping her position. After about three seconds she did.

"And I suppose walking around with a cap over your head like you're Johnny from Guilty Gear is a bright idea in a thick crowd like this, is it, Einstein?"

Her comment made Yun double take. "Tch! If you're implying that I go around copying things I see on TV then you're mistaken heavily. I'm about as original as they come, girl!"

The woman's hair whisked in a slight breeze and her eyes broadened a bit. "You must be joking... You could've very well bought that fake kung-fu getup from that clothing store down the street. Give me a break. And you got your siblings following after you? Ha!"

She then turned towards them, brought her hand up to her forehead, and made an "L" with her thumb and pointer finger.

"Losers!" she ended mockingly, making Yin start to bubble over herself.

"Hey, just who do you think you are?" she demanded, stepping forward beside Yun. Little did she know that they were drawing a crowd. "No one goes off on our attire! This is a family heirloom!"

"Yeah, I can see that much," the blond woman said devil-may-care-like, "and I suppose that you guys 'pretend' to fight, too, huh?"

With that Yun's eyes began to sparkle, a look Yang was all too familiar with. "Oh, so you're calling out the Triple Dragons by yourself? That's quite some lip you're giving us. If that's what you want, then I'll be happy to oblige!"

"Brother... Sister... We didn't come here to start an altercation..." the middle Lee reminded. "We came here to find Sakura. There's no reason for us to fight this wo—"

"Wait..." the stranger replied, making the Triple Dragons pause. It seemed the mention of the word "Sakura" struck a tone for her, for she stopped goofing around and put on a serious look. "Sakura...? As in Sakura Kasugano?"

"Yeah... What's that to you...?" Yin asked, crossing her arms.

"Sakura's my cousin... I'm Kyone Kasugano... and I'm looking for her..."

"Yeah, well... so are we, and you'll be surprised to know that she ain't here," the oldest sibling pouted. "She and the rest of her group traveled south of here."

"South, huh...?"

Kyone took a pause to think for a bit, then she smirked. "That's nice... Thanks for the info. Unfortunately for you, only I'm going to be seeing her, so why don't you do yourself a favor and head back to Hong Kong, losers? It'll save you the trouble of me having to take you out now."

"Tch! You just won't stop flapping your gums at us, will you...?" Yin shot back, now stepping forward and getting into her Kenpo fighting style. "I think it's about time I showed you that you should watch your manners!"

"Ha! You're much too weak to beat me, you little twit!" Kyone returned while getting into her own fighting stance. "You and your two brothers are finished! Right here and now!"

On the side, Hoimei only sighed as Yang looked back at her and Shaomei and frowned. Of course, they all knew now that there was no backing down from a street fight now, especially due to the huge crowd around them.

"Its three on one," the older of the two sisters muttered. "Just try to finish this as fast as you can, Yang."

Yang only nodded. "Sure." He then turned his full attention on Kyone, who was now starting the battle against his sister, Yin, first. Yun had already backed down and stood on standby and Yang joined him, watching on as Yin and Kyone circled around each other, getting a feel of the other...

_If she's a relative of Sakura... she should fight a little similar to her..._ the youngest Lee thought carefully._ For my sake I hope so..._

"You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, Yin Lee," Kyone taunted with a smirk on her face. "I'm going to enjoy beating you up."

With that Yin's forehead twitched. "That's it!" She then brought her leg up and kicked out hard to Kyone's chest, who merely knocked it away. She then retaliated with a hard fist to the body, almost like something a boxer would do, and it almost caught Yin off guard. The youngest Dragon had to bend her torso away to narrowly avoid it. As Yin tried to maintain her focus, Kyone was hot on her, sending her leg up for a hard kick to the head that Yin dodged by arching her back and letting it sail above her. Yin then took this position to drop down to the ground...

"Ha!"

...and come up with her Senkyutai. Unfortunately, Kyone ducked herself after missing, her back to Yin, so the attack missed rather badly...

"HAHA!" came a really good laugh from Kyone; the moment she turned back around to face Yin, who already knew she made a crucial mistake, the shabby Japanese blond jumped up after her and as the two landed, she instantly whammed her fist into Yin's face. The force of the Kasugano's fist was surprisingly powerful, instantly dropping the other girl to the canvass, gasping from the pain.

"How'd you like that?" Kyone taunted, watching as Yin nursed her cheek. "Come on and stand up! I'm not through with you for a second!"

"Yin!" Yun shouted out, watching on as his sister slowly stood up from the ground. The girl Dragon had a very shocked expression on her face, directed all the way at Kyone.

"N... not even... Sakura hits that hard..." she whispered, bewildered. "How...? I felt as if I got hit by one of Ryu's Shoryukens..."

This made Kyone laugh once again. "Ah, I appreciate the compliment. I take it you liked my Ishi Kujikuken... I told you. The three of you aren't going to be able to take me if you get trashed after just one special attack."

"Ugh...!" Yin groaned out, frustrated already. "I'm having enough of this...!"

At the end of her sentence, Yin's body blurred out of Kyone's sight, who instantly went on the defensive. A half-second later, Yin reappeared... in her face, and before Kyone could react, she grabbed onto Kyone's shoulders, brought her close, and started to knee her in her stomach as hard as she could. Each one made the blond gasp. After 5, Yin gave a final one, making Kyone stumble back a bit to try to recover. Just then Yin shouted again, throwing out her arm to strike at her opponent once again in an upside-down spear hand... However...

"What the...?" Yin gasped, noticing that Kyone managed to grab her hand before it hit her face, and instantly pull her forward. Unable to stop, Yin cried out in pain once Kyone's knee came up to meet her body, or most specifically, her chin... As the youngest Dragon fell backwards, stunned, Sakura's cousin brought her right arm backwards, forming a black ball of ki in her hands...

"Mei... Hadouken!"

...and then shot it out forcibly, the black ball forming a surge attack that hit the unsuspecting Yin in almost no time flat. The Hadouken blew Yin off her feet and to the pavement, sliding back until Yun caught her.

"Yin!" he shouted, "Are you alright?"

"Oooooohhhhh..." was the girl's only response, her eyes very close to being shut completely. "She's... powerful..."

"Save your energy, Yin," the oldest of the Dragons said quietly, his eyes not turning to Kyone, who, in turn, was tapping her sneaker on the pavement, waiting.

"So I suppose I'll be taking you on, as well, huh, cap-boy?"

Yun didn't respond to that, his brain trying to figure out a way to bring her down. The moment he began to stand up, Hoimei instantly ran up to him, holding him off.

"Don't you dare do anything reckless!" she shouted at him. "You saw what she just did to your sister! She needs to be attended to!"

"Then you do that, then," Yun replied. "I'm not going to sit here and let her make fun of the Dragons."

"And I'm not going to sit here and let you wind up like Yin! You sit tight right here, mister!"

"Hey!" Yun instantly shouted out, wincing as Hoimei grabbed onto his ear and twisted it in a very unpleasant way. Kyone was watching it all, and she couldn't help but laugh to her heart's content.

"Oh...! This is priceless! Talk about a joke! And you guys call yourselves street fighters? You're pathetic!"

"That's enough..."

Kyone blinked as her focus went off to the person who said it, Yang. The middle Dragon was now just a little ahead of her, fixing his yellow glove. He then brought his hands together and bowed at Kyone before going into his fighting stance.

"Kimeru... (I'll end this...)" was all he said in a warning. Kyone noticed all of this and then turned her face to a more competitive look.

"This might get interesting after all... Ikuzo! Yah!"

Quick on the attack, Kyone lunged forward with a hard fist to the face that Yang moved away from.

"Hai!" he shouted, retaliating with one swipe of his Tourozan. It landed right on her side, and it slowed her down a little. Still, it didn't stop her from dropping down to the ground and kicking at Yang's legs. Yang parried and countered with an elbow to the face, but Kyone also parried this...

"SHOUOKEN!"

Although she shouted out Sakura's famous version of the Dragon Punch, Kyone did it even more differently, her fist rocketing into Yang's stomach once and stopping him in his tracks before she went up with the jumping uppercut to his chin. Yang fell on his back on the pavement but instantly sat up, nursing his chest, just in time to see Kyone jump towards him to plant a sneaker in his face. Luckily, Yang was able to predict how she'd land, and started to roll forward under her leg, and connect with his version of the Senkyutai Yin missed with earlier. Kyone found herself being popped into the air, but unfortunately for her, Yang landed first... and wasn't done with her... He quickly braced himself, getting into a special stance...

"RAISHIN MAHHAKEN!"

Just before the Kasugano could safely hit the floor, Yang shot his right arm out, stunning her right in mid-air. He then threw his arm up from its spot, brought it back, and attacked again, his body splitting into a silhouette as he tore his way through Kyone's body, the end of the attack making her spin to the ground below. Right after her was done Yang flipped away from Kyone, watching cautiously as she began to roll to the side, giving Yang a hard look as she started to lightly pant.

"Why you little..." she muttered, picking herself off the ground and standing up straight, her eyes on Yang with a very dark intension on her expression... She clenched her fists tightly as she hardened herself, ready to attack any moment. Before either Yang or Kyone could do anything, however, another voice shot through the air...

"Kyone! Cut this out!"

Kyone gasped as she instantly turned over to the side, where another young woman was emerging from the crowd. Yang, as well as the rest of the Dragons, looked at this girl, who was also a bit of a brown/blond-hair only her hair was done in a ponytail. She was only an inch taller than Kyone, but her expression was pretty much serious, yet not angry.

"Ayane..." Kyone said lightly, her full attention on this new woman.

"It figures you can never wait on me to finish my little shopping rounds, my little sister," Ayane muttered. "You really need to pick your fights more wisely."

"You're one to talk, sourpuss," Kyone retaliated. "You never let me have any fun. Besides you take forever shopping. You know why we're here, anyways. Why don't we get some practice in before we meet Sakura?"

Ayane simply looked at the Triple Dragons group for about 3 seconds before she took a deep breath and returned to her sister.

"Come on. Let's get out of here."

Kyone also looked on at Yang before she replied, "Yeah..."

She then brought a hand up to her forehead and gave the Dragons a taunting good-bye.

"Later, much! It was a real... gas!"

Just before Kyone turned away from the fight for good, she gave Yang a really good look, and said in a low tone only he could hear...

"And I look forward to seeing you again... I got a feeling that I'm going to really enjoy fighting you while not holding back, pal..."

Yang merely stood up straight, watching as the two Kasugano sisters met up with each other and walked away from him. He didn't move for quite a bit, instead listening as Shaomei talked to him from behind.

"Are you ok, Yang?"

"Yes, I'm fine, Shaomei..."

"...those two seem... different..."

"You're right about that... There's... more to them than what they lead on. I can feel it. That... 'Mei Hadouken' she used on Yin... That was no ordinary attack."

"Yang!" Yun's voice rang in his ear. "Let's get out of here. Yin seems to be coming around. Let's bail out of here."

The middle Dragon sighed in relief then turned around to regroup with the others. Yin was still on the ground in Yun's arms, but she was now only sighing, her eyes looking up into her brothers'.

"Sister..." Yang said quietly, coming down to Yin's level. "How are you feeling."

"Geez..." she muttered. "I... wonder why Sakura never told us about her cousins...?"

Both Yun and Yang took a pause, thinking about that themselves, and then Yang answered the best way he could.

"I don't know..."

"All I know is that she's going to have to answer to this one pretty well," Yun finished. "Things just don't add up, and I'm going to get me some answers, pronto."

**Kyoto, Japan: 3:20 P.M.**

"Mr. Gentsai, you and your party have some visitors."

"Aye... visitors...? They must be here to see Athena. Fans, aren't they...?"

"On the contrary. Mr. Kim Kaphwan from the KOF circuit is here to see you, and he has a small party with him."

A toothless grin shaped onto the short, old man's face. "Ah. Kim, is it... Tell him to come right up."

"Right away, Mr. Gentsai."

In the 10th floor of one of Kyoto's many tall buildings, a certain Chinese elder known by the name of Chin Gentsai sat back on the couch in the provided room he was staying in, sake bottle in hand. His eyes were hidden by his massive, grayed eyebrows and Chinese hat, and at the moment he was enjoying the silence of the hotel that he was staying in at the moment. However, that was disturbed by the sudden call from the hotel lobby, and apparently things were going to get livened up...

...and what better why to enjoy that then by having another swing of his favorite beverage?

"It's about time he decided to visit..." the old man said to no one in particular, bringing the circular mug to his mouth and taking a long drink of sake... and didn't stop until the door beside him was being knocked on... 4 minutes later.

"The door's... open..." he slurred, and on command, the 'guests' revealed themselves.

"Chin Gentsai," came the voice of Kim Kaphwan as he stepped inside. "It's nice to see... you again..."

It was then that Kim gave a sweatdrop. The moment he laid eyes on Chin he noticed that the old man was sprawled out on the couch, his sake bottle safely on the table in front of him.

"That stuff can't be good for him..." May Lee chimed afterwards, she, Terry, and Ryu bringing up the rear. As Ryu started to find a place to settle down at, Terry held out a hand, stopping him.

"You might not want to get comfortable. You may have heard about him on your travels, but I practically know him over the years at KOF. When he's like this, you... can make an usual conversation with him turn into a two minute interrogation."

Ryu wordlessly looked at Terry with a look as if to say, "You're joking". Terry only smirked and jerked a thumb at Kim as he approached Chin.

"Just watch. Kim'll show you how it's done."

"Chin... I'll be brief," the Korean champion opened up while standing over Chin's lounging body. "You and the Psycho Soldiers have been in Japan for the last 6 months on tour."

"Tour... What tour...? Oh...! That tour... Yeah... Those kids can sing, can't they? Makes me proud that... they're like that..."

May Lee twisted her mouth at Chin's drunken response. _Only one of them sings, you know..._

"Why I came here was that people worldwide know about the strange events happening around the globe, and we all know how your students are when things like this come about..."

"Yeah, you don't think I know that...? Yes... Kensou and... and what's her name...? Athena... Yeah... Those two always going out and... trying to figure out what the heck's going on around here in this twisted country... I... I think they actually succeeded once... somewhere around here... If you're looking for evil, this sure is the place... That's for sure... hic"

Kim's eyebrow furred up a little at that. "When was the last time they had that altercation?"

"...hic..."

A weird silence filled the area as all eyes went on Chin...

"Ask him again," the Lone Wolf suggested. Kim nodded and complied.

"That's success... When was that, Chin?"

"...oh! Oh, that's hic right. Two days ago... Her... Those two and... the kid with the... the hat and... the other one with the weapons coming out of her bu—"

"Bao and Malin," May Lee quickly interrupted for Chin, her mind not wishing for him to complete that word.

"Yes...! Them. They hic broke up some... some smuggling... for some drug... Fought them off good... or so I heard... I told them they... might come back... tis why... they're not here at the moment..."

"Well, that explains why it's so quiet in here," Terry said under his breath. Ryu only looked on with his arms crossed, and May Lee was pretty much mute. Kim noticed the pause in Chin's speech and looked closer, only to find out that the old man's mouth started to emit snores...

"Look's like he's spent..." he sighed. "Honestly one day I'm going to have to teach him the evil's of drunkenness..."

"For another time," Terry called, now turning back out the hotel room. "We'd better check into our own rooms ourselves if we're going to be staying here."

"Good idea," Kim answered. "If anything else should show up, I know where to ask for answers."

At the three older fighters began to exit, May Lee turned around and eyed the drunkard, who's head shifted over towards the door in which she was next to, and let out a burp from the sake... followed by a big, toothless smile. The Korean superheroine just sighed and closed the door after her, catching up to the others.

_Pervert..._

**Toyota City, Japan: 7:22 P.M.**

"You know, Hokuto, things would run a bit more smoothly if we had something like a road map... We don't have a clue at where we're going."

The oldest of the four women didn't reply to the ninja girl, instead focusing on the area around her, a park-like area in the city of Toyota. Hokuto, Nanase, Ibuki, and Makoto had been traveling for roughly 4 days, and ever since they had left, they had been following a weak trail of Kairi's power. However, now it seemed as if Hokuto was losing the trail. She could barely keep her second sense up for him... not to mention...

"Not only that, but I haven't eaten anything half-decent in like, forever!" Ibuki moaned from behind the others who were walking the path in the middle of the park. "Are you sure you can't give up some yen so that we can have something better to eat for dinner than sushi like we had the last three nights?"

"Are you kidding?" Makoto asked, scoffing at the thought. "In case you haven't noticed, we don't have a lot of money due to all the income we wind up spending from the students to keep my dojo running, not to mention our necessities. It would've been nice if you had went on and got you a little job yourself if you wanted to eat so nice."

Ibuki was just about to shoot back at that, but Hokuto cut both younger girls off.

"That's quite enough from the both of you. Simply put, we're low on funds, and we can't afford that sort of luxury. And as far as where we're going, don't worry about that. I can still sense Kairi, so we aren't lost. Just be patient. I never knew a time where the past two times it took me less than 6 months to track him down..."

"Six months?" Ibuki shrieked. Hokuto only turned her focus back to her front, re-concentrating her energies towards tracking down her brother...

...yet something else interrupted her.

"Well, look at this. Four lovely ladies and no male escourt?"

The voice, which the group quickly recognized, came from their right side, where two individuals, both blond, stood at. One was quite a bit older than the one beside him, his hair short cut and wearing casual clothing. His face was unmistakable, as was his dialogue.

"Ken Masters...?" came Nanase's puzzled voice.

"And... Mel...?" Makoto's followed behind. Sure enough the young teen next to Ken, sprouting longer hair and street clothes was the three-time Pan American champion's son, and both of them were smiling.

"Hi, Makoto!" Mel yelled while waving at the female group a few meters from him. "It's nice to see you guys again! What's the occasion for being here?"

"The same could be said to you," Hokuto said in a calm voice.

"Well, little Mel, here," Ken started, rubbing his hand into Mel's hair playfully, "is on his first World Tour, and I'm here guiding him. We've been at this get-up for about 2 months now. Trust me, the tyke's been getting better than ever in each battle he's been in."

"I don't know..." Nanase said lightly. "With all that has been going on in the world lately, I'm not sure its safe for something like that..."

Ken's face instantly lit up into a smirk. "That's no problem. Mel and I can really handle ourselves. I think the offer should go back to you. The four of you had been walking ever since I've laid eyes on you not too long ago. Tell me... what's your reason for being away from home?"

Makoto, Hokuto, and Nanase all went rather silent at the question, not intending on letting Ken know about their little mission. However, Ibuki saw it differently...

"We're on the lookout for someone," she said loudly, "and we're starving! We've been walking ever since we left home and it's driving me nuts! You think we can get a ri—"

"IBUKI!" Makoto shouted, instantly shutting her friend's mouth with her hands. Hokuto, in turn, spun around and gave the ninja girl a hot stare, and Ibuki merely responded with a nervous laugh, sweating nervously. However, she already let too much out, and both of the Masters got the message.

"Need a lift, huh?" Ken said, his sparkling smirk upgrading to a smile. "That's no problem. We got enough room to allow you lovely girls to tag along."

"Yeah," Mel followed up. "Should be a blast."

"That's quite alright," the oldest of the women group reassured. "There's no need for you to—"

"Are you kidding?" Ibuki yelled, breaking away from Makoto. "I need a decent bath! Food! The works! I don't want to rough it! I thought this was the 21st century! We've evolved, Hokuto. It's times when you just have to ask for the help. Heck, we can find you-know-who a lot more quickly if we're tagging with Ken!"

Hokuto made a doubtful face while staring at Ken. She then faced Ibuki again and sighed.

"Why do I let you talk me into these things...?" she muttered while putting a hand on her head and shaking it.

"Alright!" the youngest cheered. In no time flat she started to run towards the two blonds to her right. The others followed suit not too much later, Hokuto bringing up the rear. Just as she passed Ken, she stopped and turned her head to him.

"I don't want any funny business, ok...?" she warned. "I know your style from over the years... You're married, remember?"

"What...?" Ken immediately defended himself, sounding as innocent as he could muster. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Hokuto just gave him a smirk and passed him by, wordlessly accepting her offer. Just afterwards, Mel approached his father, a puzzled look on his face.

"Dad... just what did Hokuto mean by...?"

"You'll find out a little later, Mel," was all Ken responded with, putting a hand on his son's back as he lead him back to their method of transportation. "But for now, let's make these young women feel right at home."

"Sure. Whatever you say, dad..."


	13. Trouble in Kyoto

**_Chapter 13: Trouble in Kyoto_**

**Kyoto, Japan: 10:00 A.M.**

"Our little piggies are all in one pen, Miss Raven. Awaiting further orders."

The wind blew briskly at the top of one of Kyoto's many buildings. A sole person stood on top of it, hidden to all eyes, scoping out the horizon through the binoculars in hand.

"That's good..." a pleased voice came from the communicator in the figure's right ear. "We're downloading the specifics from your database now. Standby for the next orders..."

"Roger."

A good silence began to claim the air, the individual on the rooftop still staring at the stores below. It was another 10 seconds before Raven spoke again.

"Alright, then... Your new orders are to track down the Psycho Soldier known as Athena Asamiya. If you can, capture her, but the main reason for finding her comes in two parts. The first is that they have a certain boy with extraordinary powers in his little body. He participated in past KOF tournaments and is known as 'Bao'. He's as important as Athena, if not more, so don't forget that he's first priority. Second priority... Those same Psycho Soldiers that have been breaking up our Kyoto businesses will be expecting some company in the form of a certain individual you're very fond of..."

With that, the individual's eyes stiffened and the binoculars dropped from her face. "Is it... her...?"

"Yes. Sakura Kasugano is due to meet Athena and her little troupe at their recording studios. You're there to conduct your mission, but if you'd like to spice things up... you can say 'hi' to her..."

With that, the young woman stood up from her kneeling position, running a hand through her short blond hair, her lime green eyes broadened by determination.

"I understand, Miss Raven. I'm on my way now."

"Understood. Don't disappoint me, Saya."

And with that, the young blond nodded. "Over and out..."

Once she shut the communicator off, she sighed and closed her eyes. Only one word flashed through her mind as she collected herself...

_Sakura..._

--------

**Kyoto, Japan: 10:45 A.M.**

"You really think it was a good idea for us to split up like this?"

Sakura let the black-haired girl's question sit in her mind as she tried to navigate through the streets of Kyoto. True, what Jan said was correct. The Breakers did break off upon reaching the city to cover more ground. Chun-Li took Ace, Karin and Ran with them and went north while Batsu, Hinata, Kyosuke, and Akira went south. On the other hand, Kaoru took her small group of Mitsumi and Yui west and the remainder, Jan, Darrell, and herself, went east in the city. This way, at least one of the teams were going to run into some type of clue, but seriously the Cherry Blossom and the Flameflower weren't sure on this. Both had a feeling that the ones leading the group, Karin and Chun-Li, were going about all this too fast. Abet that was their job, the two of them, most noticeably Karin, were beginning to grow a little impatient even though it was only two days since they started their journey. Darrell kept that in mind, crossing his arms as he looked at the pavement, trying to think while still walking towards their destination.

"I don't really think so..." was his response, his voice calm despite the situation. "It's not like we have much of a choice, though. The others are pretty serious on finding something and something fast, and you can bet they don't want to come away from this city empty handed. If they can find something here on Shadowloo, then they're not going to stop until they do."

"Oh... I see..." Jan replied. She then took a pause, her face slowly coming from a saddened one (which was like that for the past 20 minutes) to a more joyous one. "But hey! Sakura says that we're going to check out a lead from that famous KOF fighter and singer! Knowing that it's Athena we're talking about, we're bound to come away with something big right here."

"Hopefully," Sakura answered. "It sort of bothers me that Athena and her friends are going about fighting Shadowloo guys like they are now. Sure they're strong and can take care of themselves, but it's just that they don't know Shadowloo and what they're capable of. I'm still a little worried about you, Jan. Even though you've show a lot of progress in such a short amount of time, I never really saw you fight in a real battle, and seriously, I'm wondering if you can hold your own against such skilled fighters."

"You don't have to worry about me, Sakura!" the young girl smiled brightly. "I'm not going to let you down at all."

Jan's reply made Sakura smile in the process. "You really do remind me of myself when I was younger..."

"Sorry to interrupt, but we're not much farther from where we need to go, now, are we?" Darrell interrupted, now looking around their surroundings. Here the area was crowded with skyscrapers, encasing a lot of the life on the streets in light shadow. The sky was partially cloudy and there was a light breeze running through the air today. Sakura and Jan both looked around and the oldest of the three nodded.

"Yeah, you're right. It's one of these buildings... Athena's supposed to be in a radio station doing an interview and recording her latest CD around here... We just have to find the street she's on. It shouldn't take us more than a few minutes to get there. Just follow me, ok?"

The two beside her nodded and continued to make their way through the light crowd around them. As the trio began to reach an intersection, Sakura's eyes lit up upon recognizing the crossing street...

"Yep! We're here!" she announced to Jan and Darrell. "We just need to find the radio station, find out where Athena is, and figure out what's going—"

"SAKURA KASUGANO! STOP RIGHT THERE!"

The loudness of the sudden voice was enough to stop traffic, literally. Cars screeched to a halt and activity went to a similar stop. All observing eyes found their way to the intersection of Kio and Retsu Avenues, where a shocked and stunned world champion found out that just above here people were dodging out of the way of someone moving _fast _in their direction. Neither Sakura nor Darrell recognized the voice at all, other than the fact that the person sounded Chinese...

...and once a person emerged from the opposing crowd, all three Breakers let out a blink of surprise and confusion, staring at the young, light-haired woman in front of them. Her blue jeans were really loose, just barely showing her red sneakers, her wrists with matching bands and she wore a short top, her waist sprouting a thin yet decorative red sash that swayed its ends in the breeze. Her eyes were certainly serious and with a down-to-business tone to it as she struck her pose, her gaze hard on the two World Warriors, hands on her hips.

"Hey! Who knew that we'd run into you so fast!" she said loudly. "Sakura Kasugano and Darrell Markis! Just the two I was looking for!"

Taken by surprise by this turn of events, neither of the mentioned knew how to react to this, and Jan realized that, deciding to return the favor by shouting back, "Hey! Who are you?"

The Chinese woman fixed her eyes on Jan and made a puzzled face, not recognizing this young fighter at all in the white and black shirt and matching shorts, sneakers, and red sparring gloves. She then smirked and said proudly. "The name's Xiao Fen, proud user of the Fuushi-ougi style of martial arts. I've traveled along side my friends all the way from Shanghai to meet you. Now that I have, I've got some things to settle out with you two!"

_She sure does have impeccable timing, whoever she thinks she is... _Darrell thought smugly, making a face. _Nevertheless, she does look like she's quite the fighter..._

"So what's the deal here, huh?" he then said out loud to Fen. The woman began to respond to that, but suddenly another woman shot out from behind her, grabbing hold to her arm. She was around her size; her choice of clothing a bit more casual than Fen's, but the fact that she wore a sleeveless shirt that exposed her toned physique and alternate colored wristbands made it obvious that she was as good in shape as the younger.

"Fen, I can't believe you!" she scolded the autumn-haired fighter. "Did you lose your mind?"

"Mei-Ling, not now...!" Fen said through closed teeth, her focus still on Sakura and Darrell. "I've found some of the people we were looking for! I had to make an entrance, you know...!"

"W... what...?" Instead of being mad at her friend for her behavior, Mei-Ling now looked for herself, and found out that indeed Fen was correct. Quickly Mei-Ling shook her head and gathered her composer, the turned her attention to the World Warriors a few meters away from them.

"Greetings," she said politely. "Please excuse my friend here. She doesn't mean to be rude."

"Another one, huh...?" Sakura said afterwards. "You mind telling me who you are, too?"

"Gladly. My name is Shui Mei-Ling. We caught your story not too long ago when you were attacked, and we need to get some information on you concerning the people behind all this mess."

"You're kidding..." the cherry blossom replied while shaking her head. "Just what would you guys want with info on Shadowloo?"

Mei-Ling took a pause before answering, her mind flashing on to the image of her father in his hospital bed back in Shanghai...

"My father was victim to an attack from those scoundrels. He's currently recovering from it, but I just can't sit back and let them get away with what they've done. I'm set to bring them down if I can. Considering what happened a few years ago when you were working for them, I figured—"

"Nani...?" Jan said in shock, now looking at her sensei, so to speak, with wide eyes. "You never told me that you willingly _worked _for them! I always thought it was a clone of you or something..."

Remembering those dark months made Sakura and Darrell's faces grow grim. They hated to remind themselves on those times when Bison was still alive...

"That wasn't the case..." Darrell said, choosing his words carefully. "The leader of Shadowloo brainwashed us into doing whatever he wanted. What we did those three months... I truly regret letting that happen..."

"Oh, really... You could've fooled me back then..."

Now a third voice ran in the air, only this time, both World Warriors knew vaguely who this one belonged to. Stepping in-between Mei-Ling and Fen came a young man in black and red, his hair a golden yellow and his eyes a red iris... His face read a lot more seriousness than Fen's, and at the looks of things, it was unclear what he wanted to do...

"Rock Howard...?" Sakura gasped. "Aren't you that Southtown kingpin's s—"

"Don't even finish that!" he snapped, making the World Warrior champion's heart skip a beat. "I cut all ties to that man a long time ago... That's not why I'm here. Did that brainwashing make you forget what you did to Terry that day after you "murdered" Geese?"

At this question neither Darrell nor Sakura was able to answer...

"Well?" he demanded again.

"I don't remember that..." the flamethrower muttered. "After we got our heads together, Chun-Li only reminded us of so much..."

"I'm not buying that..." Rock replied, now stepping forward and unzipping his jacket sleeves. "Maybe if I beat it back into you then you'll remember..."

"Hold up a second...!" Sakura began, and before either Fen or Mei-Ling could make heads or tails out of what they just heard, Jan stepped forwards, her face ticked off.

"Now you listen here, pal!" she said while facing Rock. "Sakura would never purposely attack someone like that unless something was wrong with her! Besides that was many years ago. Why haven't you gotten over that by now?"

"Things like that I just can't slip by without them being checked..." was Rock's only reply. "Now you might want to get out of the way. This doesn't concern you. This is just between me and those two."

"No way! If you want to mess with my master, then you'll have to get through me!" Then, throwing caution into the wind, Jan went into her fighting stance. "I, Jan Kaito, will take you on right now! I don't care if you're as good a fighter as people say you are... but I've been training with the best! You don't stand a chance, pal!"

At first Rock couldn't respond to what he was hearing. His face seemed to read it all; he really didn't want to fight this young girl... but taking in how Jan was taking it, there seemed to be no way he was going to get otherwise now... Rock made a face and then responded to Jan's challenge.

"Well... I didn't intend to have to go through a roadblock to get some answers here, but if I must... then I will..." He then slipped into his stance as well and ended the conversation with, "Let's see what you got, then."

Behind Jan, Sakura frowned.

_It seems we're going to be a little late for our appointment..._

On the other side of things, Mei-Ling and Fen both had confused looks on their faces.

"Is he... serious...?" Fen asked her friend. "Is he really going to fight that girl?"

"I believe so..." Mei-Ling muttered. "I wish he had told me everything on the way here. This doesn't seem very... wise... I honestly didn't know this was his intensions... Perhaps if I knew more about him during the travel here then I would've been able to reason with him..."

Mei-Ling then turned and gave her friend a mute look.

"...IF you weren't flirting with him the entire way..."

"Hey!' Fen shouted defensively. "Can you blame me? It's not every day you get to be around someone as handsome as him. I'm telling you one day I'm going to crack him. You just watch."

Mei-Ling paused at this, making what Fen said sink in her head. Then, without warning, she smirked at her.

"So... I take it you're developing some sort of... crush on him...?"

Fen instantly twitched, heavily sweatdropping, and stammered a little. She then turned away, looked up into the sky with a hand behind her head and laughed uneasily.

"I don't... know what you're talking about! Don't be silly, Mei-Ling! I... I just like him. That's all..."

The older girl's smile only grew as she turned her attention back to Rock, who was now beginning his battle with Sakura's student, and gave off a sly look in her eye.

"Look at him, Fen..."

"Huh?"

"Look at how he moves when he fights..."

At this, the light-hair girl gasped, noticing that not only was Mei-Ling's words seemed very unlike her (she knew Mei-Ling normally scolds her instead of encouraging her), but also that she _was _paying attention to Rock as he did battle with Jan. It was rather apparent that Rock's experience at fighting was showing off against the inexperienced rookie, for as Jan kept attempting haymaker swings at Rock's head, the older swayed and ducked them all easily. He then chose an opening and threw an elbow into Jan's face, making her stumble back and onto her rear end, holding her mouth with her hand.

"Ow!" she cried out, her eyes closed from the pain. "Owww...! That hurt, you jerk!"

Rock merely kept bouncing in his fighting stance. "You can expect that a lot if you're fighting. You shouldn't sweat it so much."

Once Jan caught her second wind she sucked up her pain and stood up, shaking her head. "Ah...! Bachi gaataru! Ikuzo! (You'll pay for that! Here I come!)"

On cue she shot up towards Rock, who stood ready, and even before she could attack, he sidestepped, letting her stumble forwards to try to halt herself, however Rock tripped her up and once she was on her hands and knees, gave a hard kick to her rear end, launching her forwards through the air, the others standing by wincing at the impact. The young fighter landed on her back, but, mildly surprising Rock, she flipped up quickly and to her feet... abet rubbing her sore behind for a few seconds.

"Alright..." she whispered to herself, looking beyond her opponent to Sakura and Darrell. "I gotta think about what I do... I can't be making those mistakes... Remember what Sakura said..."

She then took an additional pause, thinking about what to do, and then came with an idea. Slowly she inched herself towards Rock, her opponent standing by on the defensive. Once she was close, she then threw a fast jab that Rock effortlessly swatted away... but Jan went right along with it and threw her other fist forwards, slamming it into Rock's cheek. The blow was hard enough to make him reel back two steps, and Jan kept up her attack string, turning her body and lifting her leg up for a roundhouse kick. However the attack went over Rock, letting him reverse by grabbing Jan by her legs...

"Hu...AH!" she gasped, finding herself being sent airborne and over her target, courtesy of Rock's Shinkuu Nage. Jan's eyes went wide finding herself about to come face first with the pavement again and prepared to at least try to roll once she touched the ground...

"REPPUKEN!"

...only she never did. Instead, Rock threw out his ground projectile attack, the Reppuken nailing Jan just before she could land, and it certainly did more than throw her off. The young girl groaned as her body was knocked back even more to the sidewalk where thankfully Darrell was there to catch her.

"Jan, are you sure you still want to—"

"Ugh..." she groaned, nursing herself a little as she focused on her adversary once again. "I'm fine... I'm not going to give up... I got the hang of this now..."

Then, before either of her companions could stop her, she shot back into the fray, turning her side towards Rock...

"YAH!"

...and attacked with a very hard elbow attack with as much force as she could muster. To much of a surprise to Mei-Ling and Fen as it was to Rock, it was enough to break his guard, opening him up for an uppercut to the chin, which Jan canceled into a double overhead arm strike, coming back upwards with her left arm, spinning once while attacking, and then finishing up her "Sakura" attack with the last overhead attack, sending Rock into the ground, adding in a kick while Rock was grounded. On contact the American fighter rolled out of the way, no longer waiting on Jan to make the first move...

"Not bad for a beginner," he commented quickly, bringing his arm up again and swiping at the ground twice. "DOUBLE REPPUKEN!"

Jan watched as the first swipe created another Reppuken, but the second sent it out, making it bigger than before... and fast. Jan had no other choice but to block it, and once it dissipated, she began to counter... but was thrown off at Rock dashing towards her after the attack. Again she blocked a few punches, and again Rock dashed... but this time he blurred out of sight...

"Nani?" she gasped, her surprise taking over... not realizing that Rock was now behind her... and she paid for it. A hard fist slammed into her head, and in no time Jan was seeing stars. Unfortunately for her, Rock wasn't finished...

"Kurae na... (Take this...) ORIYA!"

Terry's prodigy shot himself into Jan, his body and fist engulfed in golden energy, almost as if he turned into a comet. The moment he finished his super attack, the Shining Knuckles, Jan let out a loud cry as her body flew away from the force of it. All the spectators watching the street fight gazed on as Jan slid hard against the pavement of the street, stopped abruptly by a parked car. From there she didn't move, her mouth gasping heavily for air. Rock merely brushed his hand against his chest.

"...but I guess that's all you had," he ended his previous statement.

"N... not... yet..."

Jan, on the other hand, just opened her eyes, although she was still in pain, and tried to stand up... The 15 year old was aware of the fact that her vision was blurry, and the fact that a majority of her body was racked with hot pain, but all of that didn't matter to her. She wasn't going to be bullied again...

"You should really give it up," Rock told her. "You're just not ready for this."

"No way... F... forget it..." Jan struggled to say, her eyes beaming determination through her pain. "I'm... no weakling... I'll show you..."

"Jan, that's enough!"

The young fighter stopped on a dime once Sakura finally decided enough was enough. Jan looked on as her teacher made her way towards her downed self. Once Sakura got close, she noticed that Jan's face seemed really disappointed...

"Gomen na sai, sensei... I tried..."

"It's ok. You did well," Sakura replied with a warm smile. "All that counts is that you tried your hardest. Just try to rest yourself. Here. Let me help..."

Oblivious to the two, Rock, Mei-Ling, and Fen were watching this, and for some reason, the scene of Sakura nursing Jan's wounds that Rock inflicted on her suddenly made the three of them, mostly Rock, feel a bit guilty...

"Rock, I don't know about this..." Mei-Ling responded. "I don't think fighting is going to solve the issue you have with them."

For a while Rock didn't respond, looking on as Sakura bandaged up a bruise on Jan's cheek with some cloth she happened to always carry around with her for such a purpose. Then he sighed.

"I guess you're right..."

Fen then looked down at her attire and pouted.

"Darn... and I changed into my good fighting clothes for this, too... Bummer."

"I... don't think that was a nice thing to add to this little incident..." Mei-Ling muttered while gazing at Fen through the side of her eyes. Meanwhile...

"There," the cherry blossom said while helping up her student, who was fully patched up. "Not exactly good as new, but it should help."

"Arigatou... (Thank you...)" Jan replied, trying her best to smile.

"Douitashimashite... (Don't mention it...)"

The World Warrior champion then turned around to face Rock, her face now a totally contrast to earlier; seriously determined.

"As for you... if you want a real fight, you got it. We've wasted enough time on you guys. We're late for our appointment!"

"Appointment...?" Rock repeated.

"Yeah. We were supposed to meet Athena at 11, but it's past that now because we got hung up by you! If you want to fight so badly, then I'm not going to hold back at all! Darrell!"

"Yeah, Sakura?" her husband called, his game face already on.

"Let's show them our stuff..."

"No! Stop!" Mei-Ling called out, now stepping forward and into the street. "This isn't what we wanted!"

"Says you..." Fen whispered to herself. Of course, Mei-Ling didn't pick it up, instead turning her attention to Rock

"Rock... Let's reason with Sakura and Darrell. There's no need to cause bloodshed if we're willing to relax and listen."

Rock turned his head over to Mei-Ling, his hands slowly relaxing out of their fists state. However, Sakura and Darrell stayed on their ground, the younger of the two speaking now.

"Listen, huh...? Weren't you listening when I was speaking about that earlier, Rock?"

Now it was Rock's turn to stay silent, making Darrell continue.

"I don't like to lie to people, no matter who they are or wither I know them or not, so whatever I say is the truth as far as I know it. All I remember through all of that was that the leader of Shadowloo captured us and brainwashed us and made us do all of his dirty work. Whatever we did... was out of our control. Despite how corrupt Geese was... we wouldn't have just murdered the guy for no reason or on that reason alone. In fact, killing someone is the _least _on our minds. We like fighting, and we use it for fun and comparing our skills against others. And the god-honest truth... I don't remember the Terry incident at all."

"Me, neither," Sakura added, her hands on her hips. "Sometimes you just can't be that impulsive. Trust me, I know. There are certain times that your fists need to speak for you, but in times like this, its best to just hear things out before speaking."

"Yeah... You're right about that..." the blond said while making a face. For some odd reason, Rock didn't feel the same drive against the four that hurt Terry that morning. In fact, Terry was telling him the exact same thing before he left... "That was stupid of me..." he continued, twisting his mouth. "I have no idea why I was so closed down to words... but..."

He then sighed, giving a calm look to the three Breakers in front of him. "I guess I should say I'm sorry then..."

Behind him, Mei-Ling smiled.

_Now that's how things are handled properly... Now..._

"Excuse me," she then said out loud, "but do you think I can get some info on all of this mess?"

"Oh, yeah... That's right," the cherry blossom reminded herself while snapping her fingers. "Well, here's what we'll do. Since we were going to meet Athena and her group about that, why don't you come on as well? It should prove to be informative on all ends."

"Yes, that's good," the oldest of the other three responded cheerfully. "I guess we'll be following you then."

"Alright, then..." Sakura responded while motioning everyone to follow her. "Hopefully Athena won't mind a bigger crowd..."

--------

**Kyoto, Japan: 11:07 A.M.**

About 8 miles away from this spot and in the same city, another small set of fighters were also out on the search for answers...

Terry and Kim remembered this area distinctly. The small crowd in front of the dojo in particular was further proof. As they, May Lee, and Ryu approached the crowd, battle cries could be heard rather clearly...

"Oriya...! Hien Shippu Kyaku...! Zanretsuken...!"

...as well as a further sound of a body hitting the pavement, followed shortly by applause from the students of the dojo.

"Yep... Looks like the new Kyokugen school is doing just fine..." Terry commented as the foursome made their way to the action. There they could clearly see a man in a pink karate gi on the floor, lumps all over his face in such a way his eyes were barely visible, and his body was occasionally twitching after enduring such onslaught. A few feet away stood another fighter in orange, who brought his arms to his side and assumed a stance.

"Now get this right, Mr. Dan Hibiki," came his voice, confident and strong. "No matter how many times you try, your Saikyo style just can't match up to the power of Kyokugen! If you want to, try me again in a week, or, you could also do yourself a favor and join a real dojo and really learn a true fighting style. Either way, it's no skin off my cheek. Believe me."

The man on the ground, who was indeed the infamous successor of the Saikyo style of martial arts, struggled to sit up and speak at the same time.

"F... forget it, Ryo...! I'll show you just like I... showed Sagat years ago... Saikyo can beat ANY style..."

"Oh, you really convinced me of that..." the self-proclaimed "Invincible Dragon", Ryo Sakazaki, muttered while running a finger lazily in his ear. "That display of fighting _really _made me think that you stand a threat to our style... You've been at this charade at least once a week for the past 10 years. Seriously you need to stop or actually get better for a change."

Before Dan could reply to that, he so happened to catch the view of the pants of a white karate gi... and he looked up...

"Ryu...?"

Just then, Ryo blinked, noticing a familiar presence, and turned to his left. The moment he laid eyes on where it was coming from, he grew a smile on his face and turned his full attention to the group.

"Well, then! Looks who is here! I didn't expect to see you guys until the tournament started."

"Yes, well, we're here on business," Kim retorted. "I'm afraid you know about all the events that have been happening recently worldwide."

Ryo nodded. "Of course. Robert informed me of this not too long ago when he e-mailed Yuri from his stay in Italy. Mass kidnappings and an increase in crime activity worldwide. He also informed me that out of all the people being abducted, it seems as if whoever is behind all of this is targeting skilled fighters around the world. Father believes that we might meet up with these people personally knowing our luck in such situations, so we're all getting ready to defend ourselves. As I speak now, Yuri is taking on a challenger inside the dojo... and in a way I envy her... Who she's fighting is surely a better challenge than he is..."

The Sakazaki then jerked a thumb at the downed Dan, as if the others didn't already know that already.

"Well, then..." Terry said smugly. "Whoever that girl's fighting, he must be good if you're actually jealous."

Ryo made a face and then walked forwards, motioning the others to follow him into the dojo. He didn't say a word at all while doing so, leaving the others a little puzzled. However, they followed regardless, Ryo's students staying outside to gawk at the downed Hibiki. Once inside, the air was quickly filled with the battle cries and the sound of wind caused from attacks flying around the wooden battlefield. The students inside sat in awe as the middle aged woman in the white gi top and blue tights and sneakers shot forwards in a blaze of attacks, her large hair braid constantly flowing in the air due to how much she was moving. On the defense was another woman, this time Chinese, with a similar hair style, but her attire was mostly red with a golden phoenix design on it...

The stage was set...

Yuri Sakazaki vs. Yao Mitsumi.

Not too long ago, Mitsumi, Kaoru, and Yui were traveling through the area trying to find any clues that could help them flush out Shadowloo, however, upon passing the Kyokugen school of Karate, the female master of the school came out to offer a challenge to the threesome. As Yuri put it, Ryo had just won a local tournament for a nice cash prize and they were offering up challengers to take a portion of it. The reason; to improve their skills and let the world realize how skilled Kyokugen is in person. However, at the moment Mitsumi was the only one who decided to try it out; Yui and Kaoru were long gone, continuing on their search.

At the moment, as the 5 fighters at the door noticed, the fight was rather close, Mitsumi heavy on the defensive. She took multiple steps backwards, weaving her body out of the way of the numerous attacks that Yuri was throwing at her while trying to get back on the offensive herself.

"Raiohken!" Yuri shouted, jumping forwards quickly with both her arms over her head. Just before she landed she threw them forwards, emitting a large ball of ki to slam into the floor just a few centimeters away from Mitsumi's black shoes. On instinct Mitsumi shot backwards to avoid it, but Yuri was still closing the gap on her, and as the mountain girl realized, she was running out of space to run. The wall of the dojo was right behind her...

"I got you now!" Yuri shouted once again, ducking forwards with her fist to her side. "Chou Upper!"

Without much choice, Mitsumi put her arms up and blocked Yuri's uppercut, but before she rose off the ground, Yuri stopped. It took a moment for Mitsumi to realize that she did a momentum cancel, opting her to add a hard blow to her guard once again. The Kyokugen fighter then ducked in more, going for a hard kick to keep the pressure on, but Mitsumi predicted it and broke her guard to parry it...

"Yuri!" Ryo called out, seeing this better than his sister could. Hearing her brother's warning, the younger sibling canceled again and ducked, dodging a high knee, but just as she began to counter...

"Hoo!"

"Yuri!" she yelled, gathering up some of her inner strength to plow her fist into Mitsumi's stomach, however, Mitsumi was moving over her, using the wall for leverage to give a flying kick which would've started her Femikketsu Demizu, but in this case it allowed her to escape her trap, avoiding Yuri's devastating Shin Chou Upper. Planning on not letting Mitsumi build momentum once again, Yuri canceled a third time before lifting off, turning around quickly and raising a hand above her head.

"Ko'ou..."

Then, as Mitsumi turned to face her opponent, she noticed that Yuri held onto her ki, bringing it towards her body... Everyone who knew Yuri knew that her projectile, the Ko'ouken, has pretty limited range... but everyone, including Mitsumi, knew that if she held on to it...

"Just kidding...! HAOU SHO KOH KEN!""

...she could launch both her arms forwards, her projectile coming out larger and going a lot farther than it should. As Mitsumi blocked the attack, she made a mental note...

_She sure uses her ki a lot... If she keeps at it she's going to tire out really fast._

Surely enough, the mountain girl was right. As she got a clear view of Yuri, she could clearly see the sweat trickling down Yuri's face as she panted for breath. Mitsumi then smirked.

"Looks like you're tiring out, huh?" the Chinese martial artist teased, raising up an arm and gathering her ki. "Time to finish this off then and claim my prize! Ryujin..."

**BOOOOOOOOOOOM!**

Before Mitsumi, or anyone else in the dojo could react, a deafening explosion ran through the air, making the others in the room duck for cover as the wall to the right of Mitsumi fell apart at the seems. As the dojo shook at the force of the impact, Yuri and Ryo both noticed the location of the explosion...

"Father's side room!" Yuri shrieked, scrambling up to her feet and heading out towards the back of the dojo. Ryo was almost right on her heals, but Kim and Terry held him back...

"What the heck are you guys doing?" he shouted back, instantly trying to shake them off.

"Hold on, Ryo," Kim responded, holding one of Ryo's arms tight. "Don't do anything nuts yet."

"But that's my father...!"

"Actually... brother..."

Ryo then blinked, realizing that Yuri came back... only to find out that the only thing she came back with only a small piece of paper in her hands. Quickly she made her way past Mitsumi, who was still bewildered at all that just happened, and to Ryo, who was finally released so he could read it himself. What he read almost didn't make sense at first, but as he went on...

"_To the members of the Kyokugen family..._

_Sorry for disturbing you in such a manner... but in such a manner, you must know there's a reason for such a big interruption... Well... as you have noticed, your father has been gone for a short while to pick up some supplies for your dinner tonight. Unfortunately... he won't be returning. Since we realized that your father is the famous Takuma Sakazaki, grand master of the art of Kyokugen karate, we found it very essential that he'd come with us... If you'd like to see him again... well... we're not sure if you can if you tried..."_

Ryo instantly crumbled the paper in his hands in hatred... and the other mainstream fighters in the dojo knew who was behind this...

"Shadowloo..." Mitsumi muttered. "Looks like Chun-Li was right... Things are hot here... I'd better get in contact with the others, pronto..."

At the same time, Ryo cursed under his breath...

"That's it. They've hit far too close to home now. Whoever these guys are, they've now got the Kyokugen school on their behinds now...!"

--------

**Kyoto, Japan: 11:10 A.M**

"It's a good thing you all came. Really, it is. The others and I have been having a pretty hard time trying to keep these guys down. They just seem to pop up whenever we give them a chance."

The lovely, youthful and energetic voice, belonged to the one that most of Asia called the "singing goddess"... Many girls want to be like her and many boys (or grown men) drool over her. Be it her heavenly voice or her colorful and decorative attire and hairstyles, there was no mistaking her for anyone else in the world. There was only one Athena Asamiya.

At the moment she wasn't singing, nor was she looking at fan mail or doing her countless interviews (she had just finished an interview 5 minutes ago). Now it was strictly business. Beside her were her partners from the King of Fighters circuit: Sie Kensou, a young and gifted Psycho Soldier who was also gifted in Chinese Kempo, Malin, a teenage girl who built a reputation in holding nasty weaponry in the folds of her clothes, and the young psychic boy, Bao, who was known throughout the years as a small but powerful psychic package.

As Athena looked on at the visitors in the room, her face had a mixture of its normal cheer and pizzazz, yet there was a hint of determination and seriousness on as well. Sitting directly in front of her on a beige couch, Sakura noticed this clearly, and responded to her old friend.

"Shadowloo's like that... I'm glad that you're standing up to them, Athena... but this isn't quite like the other problems that you've had. These guys mean business."

"Oh, I know that, Sakura," Athena replied, crossing her legs. "Funny thing is, after seeing something like Orochi years ago... I think we can handle something like this crime organization. We're only getting better, and if you said that these guys have been at this gig for over 2 decades, then you guys should—"

"It's not all that simple, Athena," Sakura interrupted. "This time it's a whole lot different. They're really hitting hard this time. I know you realized the rise in deaths and crime over the world. It wasn't like this until recently. What they're doing now is a lot more dangerous than what they used to do. Shadowloo's really serious this time, and I don't think they're going to stop or let up until they get what they want."

"But from what I heard you guys stopped them plenty of times," Kensou spoke up, leaning forwards and letting his brown hair droop some. "What makes them so hard this time?"

"Well... putting it bluntly... we do know everything here," Darrell responded, who was sitting next to his wife, drinking from a water bottle in-between a few sentences. "We don't know who is leading this, what they're planning to do, and barely have an idea as to who they're targeting to achieve it. They might have lackeys out doing their dirty work, but all the main guys are so well hidden... and taking what happened within the past week or so into consideration, they can attack anyone at any moment. You guys are pretty fortunate that no one in your group's been messed up like us..."

"Wow..." came the voice of Malin, who was leaning on the couch Athena and Kensou were sitting on. "It would be nice to ignore all of these things and just go on about our business, but the fact of the matter is that we can't. The Psycho Soldiers have a knack at fighting evil people, and I might not have been in this gig for too long, but I know that if the rest of these goons are like the ones we beat up, then this'll be a piece of cake."

At this, Mei-Ling, who was sitting in a solitary chair beside Athena's, shook her head. "It's never really wise to underestimate such a mighty organization. After seeing firsthand what they did to my father, I'm not taking them lightly."

Malin made a face at the Chinese woman's reply, but before she could counter it, Rock spoke.

"What I think... is that, well, knowing that people like Shadowloo crave power, you can bet money that they're going to come after us eventually. Think about it. Southtown was run by gangs and kingpins who wanted it all, and wouldn't stop until they got everything. Evil and greed sort of come hand and hand, and I know that we're somewhere on their hit list, us all being fighters."

"Yeah, you're right..." Athena sighed, closing her eyes and trying to get everything together in her head. "So what are you suggesting..."

All eyes went on the young man in the red jacket, and Rock's eyes showed no playing around when he said what he said next...

"To be honest... I've been thinking about all of this... and I think that instead of trying to search for them... we should let them come to us. At least that way we'll be able to get a better grasp on things instead of wasting time and energy trying to track them down. Think about it. We move; they move. If we stay, they come to us... then we squash them."

A bit of murmuring filled the lobby room from the three teams as they looked over Rock's suggestion, then Kensou turned attention to himself.

"That doesn't sound too bad, but at the same time we won't know if we're going over our head by just letting them find us. Like those guys said, we don't know everything. What if they just want to "off" us, just like that?"

"We're not going to get much progress if we don't take some risks here and there..." the blond responded with.

"This isn't getting us anywhere fast..." Athena interrupted, placing a hand on her chin. "I think what we need to do is—"

Before she could complete her sentence, she was interrupted by the short sound of static followed by a voice coming from the entrance of the room. At closer inspection, it came from the speaker communicator on the door.

"Excuse me, Miss Asamiya?" a male voice ran through it.

"Yes?" Athena responded brightly.

"You have another visitor."

Athena then looked over to Sakura and asked quietly, "I thought you told me that this was all you were bringing."

In response Sakura gave an innocent look. "It is. It must be a fan of yours or something."

Athena then turned her attention back to the intercom and said, "Ok. You can let that person in, then. I always have time for my fans!"

"Surely."

The intercom then shut off, and the door opened, revealing the hallway to the rest of the studio. Standing there was a tall, black-haired man, who was the man who was responsible in seeing visitors to their destination. At the moment he was looking down to the visitor, inviting her in...

"Here you go, madam. Enjoy yourself."

"Thanks..."

...and upon sight of who the visitor was, both Sakura and Darrell gasped, Jan noticing the surprised looks on their faces.

"Saya! What a surprise!" Sakura chirped happily. Surely, the person who came into the room was small, young teenage woman with short, blond hair and casual clothing, her green eyes bright in the realization and surprise at seeing her sensei again.

"Wow...!" she welcomed, coming over to hug her school teacher. "This really is a surprise... I didn't expect to see you after what happened that day at school... At least... not this early..."

"Yes, I'm very fortunate on that..." the cherry blossom said, looking over her shoulder to Jan. "Jan, this is my favorite student back at Tamagawa Minami. Her name is Saya Hashimoto and I've been giving her pointers weekly on fighting."

At that, Jan's eyes lit up. "Oh! This is the same person you were telling me the other night, isn't it?" She then came forward and gave Saya a formal greeting. "Jan Kaito. I'm Sakura's #1 fan and I'm training under her directly. It's really nice to see you."

That quote made Saya return the gesture, yet upon ending it, she put a hand on her hip. "Really? Sakura's training you, too? That's great to hear. For how long?"

Jan smiled wide as she replied. "Running on two days now."

"Oh, you just started. Well, I've been under Sakura's wing ever since the school year started." Saya answered back.

"Really?" the black-haired girl asked, her voice high in excitement. "How cool! She must've taught you quite a bit!"

Saya smirked. "Hey, just let me get what I came here for and then I'll get back to you on that..."

Jan nodded enthusiastically, her heart running wild at the fact that she could see Sakura's first student first hand. Saya turned her attention to Athena, the two of them smiling, and then the blond said, "Miss Athena Asamiya, I've been a fan of you for about as long as I've been a fan of Sakura. I came out this way to see if I could get an autograph of you for me to take home."

"Ah, so that's it, huh?" the superstar singer replied, her eyes sparkling. "Well that's no problem. Just what do you want signed?"

Saya smiled, reaching into her jean pocket to get a special photo of Athena split diagonally, the left side of it of her singing at a concert, wearing a pearly white suit, and the right showing her during on of her bouts at the King of Fighters circuit, performing her famous Psycho Ball Attack. Almost out of nowhere, as Saya placed the collector's edition photo on the table in front of Athena, the singer pulled out a pen out of practically nowhere, obviously a new psychic trick, and prepared to sign it.

"Just who am I making this special signature out to?"

"Me," Saya replied. "Saya Hashimoto. S-A-Y-A..."

As Saya spelled her name out to Athena, the others looked on in a pleasant atmosphere, witnessing such an act firsthand.

"She sure looks happy, doesn't she?" Fen asked Mei-Ling, the younger leaning on the wall next to her best friend, her arms crossed as she smiled at the scene.

"There you go!" Athena smiled as she finished, Saya lifting up the autograph in order to see the writing...

"_To Saya Hashimoto_

_A prized fan that I'll hold deeply in my heart._

_Athena Asamiya_

_Proud Psycho Soldier"_

"Thanks a lot, Miss Asamiya..." Saya replied gratefully, cracking a smile at the singer.

"No problem at all. If Sakura knows you, then I know that it's the least I can do."

The blond girl then put the picture away, just as Sakura stood up to come next to her.

"It's really a pleasure to see you again, Saya," the blossom said while placing a hand on Saya's back. "Really, that brought my day around quite a bit."

Saya didn't reply, for as Sakura's hand felt her back, the older woman blinked a little at the feel of her back...

"Saya..." she said quietly. "Are you wearing more clothing under this? You must be hot. It's around 74 degrees out today."

Saya merely brought her green eyes over to look at her teacher through the corner of her eye. At that moment, the Psycho Soldiers, who were sitting in front of them, noticed that Saya's expression seemed odd. And, at this moment, they also just realized what she was wearing a black, thick marble necklace around her neck... Sakura did, too, and commented on it.

"And what's this...? On your neck...? Wow... That must've cost an arm and a leg... It looks beautiful though."

"Thanks..." Saya replied.

"I wonder what it's made of... That has to be pure marble..."

Sakura then let her hands come to it, trying to get a feel of it... but the moment she did, she blinked.

_Hey... This isn't marble... It feels like metal..._

"Are you ok, Saya?" Malin asked, making Saya bring her eyes over to her... It was then that she realized the young boy standing quietly next to Malin... making the blond blink...

_That's him..._

...and the instant her green eyes opened again, Saya broke away from Sakura's grasp, not only surprising and startling her, but everyone else in the room. She hopped over the table effortlessly, and before anyone could make heads or tails on what was going on, Saya fist was glowing in a golden tint above her head...

"_LIGHT BREAKER!"_

...and she slammed it down... Little Bao barely had a chance to see Saya, let alone yelp out or defend, as Saya's attack collided with his head, sending him backwards into the wall before she quickly came over to him and scooped him up over her shoulder... as if he didn't weigh anything at all... At this time, everyone was up and alert, all three of the Psycho Soldiers yelling out the boy's name as Saya stood up fully, her back to the others in the room... Most noticeably, no one in the room was more shocked than Sakura... As much as she wanted to move... or do something... she couldn't...

_It can't be... No...! It just CAN'T!_

"Saya!" she cried out. "Please...! Please don't tell me you're working for _them!"_

"Heh..." came the blond's reply, her back still to the others in the room. "Don't tell you, huh...? Well... I'd like to tell you... but I'd think that it's better that I _show_ you!"

And as she spun around, her body surrounded itself in its golden light energy... not fading until she was directly facing Sakura... and when it _did _fade, Sakura's face went pale...

"No..."

That black attire... Those black boots... Those red combat gloves... and most importantly... the silver flying skull symbol on her shirt... There was no mistake about it... and it all left Sakura absolutely bewildered...

Saya Hashimoto... her favorite student both in school and on the battlefield... was working for Shadowloo...


	14. Sneak Attack

_**Chapter 14: Sneak Attack**_

**Manchester, England: 12:27 P.M.**

"West wall reporting. All operations are running smoothly. Everything clear. Over."

"South wing reporting. Everything's smooth and solid. Over."

"North wall reporting. No abnormalities here. Over."

"East wall reporting. Everything a-ok. Operation is in the green. Ov—"

**BOOOOOOOOOM!**

"What the hell was that?"

"East wall, this is east wall! We're being breached! We're being breached! Requesting back-up ASA—"

"Ok, that's enough of that."

"ARG!"

"...? East wall! East wall respond! EAST WALL! COME IN!"

"Geez, is that what you guys call your employees? Man, I can just imagine how much you take true worker values."

"W... who the hell are you...?"

"Oh, you'll find out in due time, pal. Just sit back and watch the magic!"

_click_

That was the sound of a communicator shutting off in the hands of Drake White, who looked up to see his surroundings. He found himself inside a steel building, the wall behind him a smoldering crater from the explosive he laid out a few seconds ago. Around him, soldiers in black uniforms were knocked unconscious, either through the direct explosion or through Drake's fists, who had just swiftly invaded the base. In particular, the person who his left hand was holding by his shirt was the one who owned the communicator he just shut off, and, in conjunction to the headset device in his right hand, Drake merely smiled while dropping them both.

"Drake! Come in!"

The White boy twin blinked and tapped into his shirt, turning on his own personal communicator.

"Drake White, here," he sounded back. "I've successfully entered the base through the east end. Ready to proceed with the mission."

A good quarter-mile away from Drake's location, hidden in the foliage of the green trees that surrounded the Shadowloo base, sat a camouflaged helicopter, a small satellite dish hanging off the left side, and inside sat the members of T-5 of Delta Red: Rachel Tyler, James Reid, Morris Ellington, and Jeice Williams, Rachel manning the on-board communications while monitoring Drake's progress through a small camcorder in his shirt.

"Geez, I still can't believe he did it," Jeice murmured, sitting to the right of Rachel and observing the mission the Whites were going through. "Those two really do have the blood of their mother, that's for sure."

"Alright, Drake," Rachel said, keeping focused while holding a hand on her ear to smoothly talk to the young operative. "You're to keep up the distractions while moving towards point A-7 of the enemy base. This is the information section of their base. You're to meet your sister there ASAP."

Back inside the base, which was now heavy with warning sirens, the blond nodded.

"Roger that. I'm on my way now. Over and out."

Drake then shut off his communicator and proceeded on with his end of the mission.

"Noel! Come in, Noel!" Rachel called over her communicator, looking at the other monitor on the copter's HUD next to Drake's. "Do you read?"

"Yes, Noel here," came the voice of the other twin, who was currently slowly creeping through the corridors of the base, avoiding being scouted out. "Everything's running smoothly on my end as well. I infiltrated the base through the south side and am working towards the information room right now."

"Are you maintaining a low profile?"

"The stealth procedure is doing just fine," Noel reported, turning towards another corner where several Shadowloo soldiers were passing by on their way towards the increasingly deafening sirens. "I must be getting close to it. The sirens are fading out."

"Yes, you're right. It should be in the corridor next to your left," Rachel responded back.

"On my way there. Tell my brother to be careful."

"Oh, don't worry about me, sis!" Drake responded, dodging an attack from an officer and retaliating with a swift backhand, knocking him clean off his boots. "I'm having a wonderful time knocking these guys silly!"

At the moment, while Noel was sneaking through the base, Drake was fighting his way through, his path littered with resistance from Shadowloo... and loving every second of it. One after another they came at him, and at the same rate he was knocking them down with all sorts of moves, occasionally using some special attacks to send them away in a blaze. Honestly he was barely thinking about it all, instead just letting the attacks flow seamlessly... It was really second nature to Drake...

"Let's go! Let's go!" he shouted, dashing through two others with a Shotgun attack. "You guys are barely making me sweat!"

Meanwhile...

"The coast's clear... I'm going in guys."

Noel could see her target so clearly from her observing spot in the opposite corridor. Not too far away from her rested her destination; the only computer-locked door in the vicinity... Taking a few more moments to make sure no one was spying on her, Noel boldly went in, swiftly approaching the door, her sights right on the keypad next to the door...

"Noel, standby," Rachel spoke through her communicator. "I'm going to crack the encryption code."

"Alright, just do it soon," Noel whispered. "I don't want to be spotted."

Rachel nodded and then turned to Morris. "You know what to do."

"You got it," Morris answered back. In the T-5 sector, Morris was specialized in computers, which meant that he was the sector's security cracker. Instantly he took his station to the left of the helicopter and got the specifics on the lock on the door, and instantly began to hack it from there. It took no longer than 5 seconds to come up with the combination set on the door...

"0991-3114-5332" he reported to Rachel, who repeated it to Noel slowly, the White girl punching in each digit as it was called. Once she finished, the door shot up and open, Noel swiftly slipping in while it closed behind her. Instantly, Noel gasped in awe at the room, which was definitely a huge computer database all in itself. The walls in circular form, were filled with computers all active, while the sides were littered with the huge Shadowloo signature winged skull.

"Where to now?" Noel asked.

"The computer in the center of the room should suffice. Just move to it and Morris shall take it from there."

Noel confirmed and as she got close, the four standby members of T-5 all checked out Morris's screen, Morris in turn already hacking into the Shadowloo information base with lightning speed.

"This is it..." James muttered to the others. "Its time we know what the heck these bastards are up to." Jeice nodded in confirmation, just as Morris's eyes widened...

"Everyone... Read this..."

The others did, Rachel the one reading it out loud for Noel to overhear...

"'_The new Shadowloo shall reach its ultimate goal of world domination through accomplishing all of our objectives with 100 efficiency. We have been held back for far too long. It is time for our movement to begin. We have been rebuilt from the ground up... New personnel, new goals, and new ambition. We shall not be denied. This world will collapse in our hands...'"_

Rachel then skipped some and got to the point quite a ways down in the document...

"'_Our primary objective: Overpower the world's defenses however means fit. This shall be accomplished in either of our secondary missions..._

_Secondary objective 1: Threaten the world's government by means of the Psycho Drug, being shipped to all corners of the globe...'"_

Rachel, now sweating lightly, noticed a side article on screen and pointed to it wordlessly, making Morris click on it...

"'_The Psycho Drug; Shadowloo's personal undercover means of world domination. Found in a purple powder and submitted through small pill capsules, the Psycho Drug's effect is immediate on a human being. Once inside the system of a man or woman, it overrides all thought and command, reducing the individual into a mindless shell of him/herself focused on nothing but bloodshed and destruction. It has been mixed unknowingly with other drug smuggles for the past 4 months, slowly spreading through the entire globe.'"_

Then, Morris went back to the main objective and Rachel continued on...

"'_Secondary objective 2: By abducting skilled warriors and politicians from around the world to serve our goal, we're guaranteed the necessary force to crush all our foes, no matter what their shape. Wither they're forced to or willingly serve us is none of our concern. Either way, it shall empower our numbers dramatically. Recently, our list of politicians has reached 55 percent, and our warrior list has recently updated to a solid 45 percent.'"_

"Morris," Jeice interrupted Rachel, "Get a copy of those lists. Those whom haven't been captured by the likes of Shadowloo we need to protect no matter what. If we know what they know, then we can pick them off easily."

"Roger," Morris replied, instantly printing out the vital copies they need from his station's printer. As he did so, Rachel continued.

"'_Secondary objective 3: Our most important task out of the listed... Our strength in Shadowloo comes with our strength in our leader... The more valuable fighters we get, the more power that fuels the numerous bases along the world, and with that, the more power Miss Raven has at her fingertips. Our powerful leader is already far surpassed in any other force out in the world thus far, and with each victim the more the gap builds between Shadowloo and the rest of this world. Soon, we shall be ready to strike, and when we do, there will be only force left in the world. Us._

_Article written by: Second in command: Senior Vega Fabio de Carna_

_ First Lieutenant of Shadowloo Armed Forces: Leonardo Vulpus_

_Article date: May 11, 2002'"_

Once everything was done, the entire helicopter fell silent, unable to believe what they just read to an extent. Inside the base was no exception; Noel just stared at the computer screen in front of her in blind shock, unable to move. Only her mouth did.

"Does... that mean that they captured our mother so that she could be part of their army?" Noel asked the members of T-5. Before either of them could answer, someone else _did..._

"Yes... Yes it does..."

Noel's blue eyes grew to the size of beach balls as the voice who spoke the words echoed in her mind. Slowly her head rose up; just as she found out that something black and made of steel was put in front of her eyes, making her freeze. As her eyes focused on it, she gasped as she found out that it was the business end of a shotgun... A REAL shotgun... and what made everything even more scary and absolutely surreal... was the fact that the person _holding_ it was... was...

"No..." was all Jeice could say, the others utterly shocked to realize what was showing on their monitor.

"What's going on over there...!" Drake shouted out, who was now speeding his way thought the metal corridors of the Manchester base, avoiding trying to fight anyone head on. By the tone of his voice he was beginning to tire... "What's the big shock!"

Then, the words Noel said in the communicator, her voice absolutely lost, were enough to stop Drake in his tracks.

"Mother..."

"WHAT?"

Drake couldn't believe what his sister just said, and he wasn't there in person to see it. Noel was... Surely enough, positioned perfectly onto the computer monitor in front of Noel, was their mother. They couldn't mistake the golden blond hair done in twin braids, those blue eyes, and that scar on her right cheek for anything...

Still, the shock of suddenly seeing Cammy again was too great for Noel... and just like that, she could feel her eyes water... Cammy's, however, stayed cold and calculating.

"What's a brat like you doing here..." she spoke, her tone unforgiving. "You have 5 seconds to speak, spy."

"Mom... Mom, don't you recognize me...?" Noel said, holding back her tears. "It's me, Noel... I'm your daughter..."

"Daughter...?" Cammy responded. Instantly she cocked the barrel of the gun, making Noel's heart jump to her throat. "That doesn't compute to me. I don't have a daughter."

"Yes... Yes you do..." Noel pleaded, her voice now almost breaking up from her emotions. "Please... listen to me... I know you can still remember me... Don't do this... Don't shoot me... Please..." She then closed her eyes, her voice crawling into a whisper. "Don't do it..."

Cammy didn't move. She knew her orders well and clear... Protect the base no matter what... However...

Her expression didn't change much, but her voice lessened some. "Noel... That name... rings a bell..."

The others at the helicopter looked on in silence as the scene unfolded in front of them. Cammy kept her weapon at Noel's head, right between the young girl's eyes, ready to fire at any moment, but even James, the rookie of the sector, knew that if Cammy wanted to kill her own flesh and blood, even if she didn't know that herself yet, she would've have already. That was her nature, to be quick to the point when it came to her objective, wither if she was with Delta Red... or if she was with Shadowloo...

...and through Cammy's eyes, this scene was odd. She didn't remember anything off the bat now that she thought about it... All she cared for was completing her missions... but now that she thought about this... she could feel it...

"Noel..."

Slowly she dropped her gun from her daughter's eyes, Noel looking up in time to notice that Cammy's expression softened some. For reasons unknown to either of the Whites, everything seemed to be coming back to the legendary operative... so quickly... So many memories... that the woman didn't realize she had...

Yet still... a part of her still belonged to her assignment... The moment Cammy put the gun away, she spun while squatting on the monitor and her leg connected with Noel's cheek. Before Noel knew it, her body slammed up against the right wall of the room, dazed. As she put a hand on her head and shook it clear, Rachel's voice came out from her communicator.

"Noel! Come in!"

"Ow..." was all she responded with. Before Rachel could respond, Jeice sat next to her in the helicopter and spoke to Noel.

"Listen to me. Don't go soft on your mother. She's part of Shadowloo. Since the room's sealed off you're going to have to take her down before she takes you down."

"What? I... I can't fight my mother!" Noel strongly protested. "That's crazy!"

"Yah!"

Noel gasped and instantly dashed to the side to avoid a vicious attack from her mother. Immediately Cammy kept on Noel, the young White trying her best to dodge her blazing attacks.

"Hey!" Jeice shot back. "Don't grow soft now! When you joined Delta Red you were ready to do anything to save your mother. If that means that you have to fight her, then you'd better take every opportunity to knock her back to her senses."

The words clicked in Noel's mind, and just as Cammy threw a sledgehammer blow with both fists to the side of the head, Noel put her left arm up and stopped the attack cold. From here the two stared each other down, Noel's eyes matching the intensity of Cammy's. Then she threw her mother off and then spun as quickly as she could...

"Cannon..."

...throwing her leg into her mother's stomach...

"_SPIKE!"_

...and spun again, this time launching off the ground for a kick to the chin. Unfortunately Cammy guarded the entire move, and because of that, Noel's momentum was thrown off. She flipped backwards in the air, and she knew she was in trouble...

"Here's a _real _Cannon Spike! Yah!"

Unlike Noel, Cammy shot straight up, her body flaring with Psycho flames, and she put her daughter on blaze on contact. A shrill cry escaped the girl's throat as her body fell hard on the electronics below, the monitor and nearby equipment breaking and short-circuiting on contact. Groaning, her body sprawled out over the mess she created, the young White barely got the chance to open her eyes and catch her mother jumping into the air... and then streak down with another kick, burning in her own flames once again, her Cannon Strike attack. Thinking as fast as she could, Noel willed her body to flip backwards, just avoiding her mother's attack, her boots on the wall, and sprung off, taking Cammy by surprise by tackling her. The moment they hit the floor, Noel sat on top of her mother, and made a mental note...

_I'm so going to get grounded for this... Forgive me, mom._

...before raising her right fist up and striking her mother hard against the face. Once... Twice... Thrice... alternating fists in-between blows. Cammy surely felt each blow for Noel held nothing back anymore, yet inside, the daughter was kicking herself for what she was going... After the 10th one, the Shadowloo doll somehow managed to block the next attack, countering with a hard shot of her own. Noel was taking by surprise and found herself dismounted off her mom, but quickly regained herself, just as her mother stood up...

"Enough with these games..." she said. Instantly Noel noticed a charge of energy from her mother... and she recognized the posture... Even though she never seen it... deep down inside her mind... She knew the move that was coming out... well before Cammy shouted out the name...

"_SPIN DRIVE SMASHER!"_

The instant Cammy shot forwards in her powered up Cannon Drill, Noel's body reacted like second-nature, stepping forwards... and just before Cammy could connect, a blinding flash filled the room, and Noel barely teleported away from the super art. Knowing that she didn't connect, Cammy tried her best to cancel, but by the time she did, she was already in the air... unable to move... Noel, who appeared towards the end of the wall, knew this was her only chance...

...and Cammy was just barely able to spin around while in air to see her daughter take to the air herself...

_Shit..._

"_Let's END this!"_ Noel shouted, and instantly her body shot at Cammy, connecting as hard as she could into her mother's stomach, popping her up farther into the air. Noel then bounced off her surroundings, repeating her homing attacks four more times until the last one ramming Cammy in the back and having her body laid out in air, Noel hovering above her, almost touching the ceiling... The young Delta Red operative then targeted herself...

"YAAHH!"

...and shot straight down, her body flaring with Psycho flames of her own, her kick nailing Cammy critically in her vulnerable stomach. Noel's attack kept hitting quickly as she drove her mother down to the floor, not stopping until finally the two met ground once again, both her boots snuffing out the flame on her mother's now unmoving body...

Back in the safety of the woods, the Delta Red sector all watched on in silence as they viewed the scene that just happened. The room was damage due to the fight that ensured, and right in their monitor they can see the end result; Noel standing over her mother, her face hidden by her blond hair, which became messed up due to the rough nature of the battle... and Cammy just lying on the floor, merely breathing... After a long while of silence, Rachel was the first to speak through the communicator.

"Noel...? Can you read me...?"

The only answer Rachel and the others in T-5 got was the sound of electricity sparking from the shattered equipment in the side of the room. After 5 seconds, the tactical operator tried again.

"Noel. Please respond."

It was then that Noel's head went up a bit, her face showing once again and her blue eyes hardened.

"Noel here..."

"Are you ok? Are you injured?"

Noel then looked back down at her mother, whose eyes were closed, almost as if she was in a peaceful sleep despite her tattered body, and muttered, "Not as badly as my mother must be..."

"You... really don't know your mother that well, then..."

The others, including Noel, gasped at the voice that rang out, and everyone looked on in astonishment at the fact that Cammy's eyes opened up, slowly but surly... Although she didn't get up, Cammy merely turned her head over to her daughter, and Noel knew, just by looking at her... That look in her eyes...

"Mother..." she said quietly, holding back a tear in her eyes. "You're back..."

Cammy didn't say anything in response, instead merely sitting up and allowing her daughter to drop to her knees beside her and hug her deeply. After that time of emptiness without her mother, Noel fully welcomed the warmth of her mother's embrace... and she truly loved the fact that they weren't fighting each other anymore... Once the two broke away from that sign of affection, Cammy still held her daughter in her hands, looking at her with a questionable look on her face, and asked an odd question...

"What are you doing in that uniform...?" Noel's mother asked quietly.

"We... Drake and I... joined Delta Red... so we could... save you..." the young girl responded. "That woman in red separated you from us... not too long ago... but..."

Cammy closed her eyes and sighed. "That woman... I... I remember now... She caused all of this... That case of... amnesia... Me being in this silver uniform... and you two being like this..." She then shook her head. "Raven..."

Noel stood silent as her mother began to stand up at her daughter's side.

"I don't know why... but the moment I saw you... everything hit me so hard and fast... Raven... somehow must have erased my memory again..." Cammy sighed.

"Again...? You know her...?" Noel asked.

"In a way, yes... but now is not the time to talk about this... We have to get out of here, now."

"No problem about that..." Noel then tapped into her communicator once again and spoke to Rachel. "Hey, guys... Make room... and tell my brother to meet back at the rendezvous point pronto."

On board, James and Rachel were smiling big from what just happened. "Excellent work, Whites. Looks like we got our original golden girl back," Jeice said confidently. "Nice having you back at the winning side, Cammy."

Cammy then looked down at her daughter as the two made their way out of the data room, the daughter supporting her mother over her shoulder... and Noel's heart warmed up seeing the smile on her mother's face.

"Trust me, you have no idea how happy I am to be back..."

--------

**Kyoto, Japan: 12:31 P.M.**

"No... No... I... I don't believe this... I can't... No... It's just..."

Sakura couldn't find the words to express her surprise, shock, distort, and sadness... As she stared at the scene in front of her eyes, numerous emotions overflowed her body... and every one of them rendered her unable to move any part of her body... except, miraculously, her mouth. Her brown eyes were utterly frozen on Saya's body, which stood defiantly with the unconscious Bao over her shoulder despite her size, her green eyes sharp at staring down her school teacher. All the others in the room were just in remote surprise, but this was way personal to these two... What made things worse... was that as time went on, Saya slowly emitted a smile on her face.

"You are my student, Saya..." the cherry blossom muttered in utter disbelief. "You... you don't belong with Shadowloo... You really don't... Doushite...? (Why...?)"

"Shut up!"

"LOOK OUT!"

The moment Saya shouted out, she threw her free hand out and instantly threw out three Rays of Light, each one pinpointing on her school teacher. Being too stunned to block, move, or anything, Sakura almost ate each one... if Darrell hadn't jumped in front of her and blocked the attack with one arm, buckling down to keep his wife safe. In turn, Sakura gasped, her body now regaining itself, and taking a startled step backwards, just realizing what happened.

"Da... Darrell..." she stammered, Darrell in turn not taking his serious eyes off Saya's.

"You do realize... this isn't the same Saya we know, right?" he asked, holding his pose.

"What do you know...? You're so right about that," the Shadowloo soldier replied, flapping at her short blond hair. "I'm not your precious student, anymore, Sakura, and you know _nothing _about me. I've been working with Miss Raven from the start of this whole operation."

That quote alone was enough to strike Sakura deep in her heart, and it felt as if she was just stabbed there by Saya's words.

"No...! No, you're lying to me!" Sakura yelled back, her voice heavily hurt as it flew through the studio. "Shadowloo must've did something to you... You wouldn't..."

"As I said before, you know nothing about me," Saya said coldly. "Miss Raven took me under her wing and she taught me all that I know. I don't need your petty lessons. The only reason I did all that I did was to uncover all the information I needed from your fighting style so that I can finish you off for the good of Shadowloo. I'm amazed at how easily you were fooled into believing that I was actually your #1 fan! How pathetic...! You don't deserve to be the World Warrior champion if you're so gullible!"

Each and every word kept wounding Sakura's heart, and it got to the point that the only thing that escaped her mouth was a weak squeaking noise in an attempt to respond. Everyone in the room knew; at any moment she might just start crying, as much as she didn't want to.

"You... wretch...!"

"Nn...?"

Saya then turned to her side just in time to see an infuriated Jan staring back at her with fury in her dark eyes, both of her fists clenched heavily.

"How... _DARE _you do this...! My sensei told me so much about you the other night in how she gave her heart out to you and she had very high hopes for you... and now you just turn your back on her like this and hurt her so viciously...! I won't forgive you for this!"

Saya herself didn't respond at all, her eyes just merely on Jan with a very indifferent tone in her eyes.

"Sensei...?" the blond doll spoke back. "Are you serious...? Sakura doesn't deserve to teach anyone how to throw a punch. Despite her age, she's still a weak girl in the inside. She hasn't grown up at all from a mere schoolgirl... and you're a bigger fool for looking up to someone like her."

"Meinu! (Bitch!)" Jan furiously shot back. "I'll teach you a lesson you'll never forget!"

"Jan, don't."

Jan instantly looked over to Darrell, whose eyes _still _gave Saya an evil glare.

"You're injured... and you don't realize this yet, because you're still young... but if you fight her like you are now... you're going to lose."

"Nani...?" the black-haired gasped. Darrell instead stood up straight, facing up with Saya squarely.

"I'll take this fight..." the flamethrower said in a low tone. "She's no longer a friend of ours... She's now our enemy... just like any other part of Shadowloo... and I'm sure if even Sakura wished to have a go with her now, she'd show mercy on her... She might not say it now, but you can tell... her heart still goes out to Saya..."

Darrell's right hand then crossed over its opposite shoulder, igniting an ember on two fingertips...

"However, MINE DOESN'T!" he barked loudly. "Being betrayed like this is something I'm not going to take lightly!"

Saya then smiled larger than she ever had before. "Would you really try to attack me and risk hurting your precious Bao in the process...?"

That quote sparked in Athena, Kensou, and Malin's minds, their attention growing even more alert at the situation. However, that just further ticked Darrell off, his eyes hardening even more.

"You might know Sakura well enough to hurt her without even touching her..." he said... "But you're an idiot if you think that threat's going to stop me from trying to get to YOU!"

And with that he shot forwards, his hand now glowing with bright flames, ready to take on Saya head on. The Shadowloo doll quickly moved out of the way of Darrell's flaming punch, but that didn't stop him from keeping on her. Just as he began to attack again, Saya kicked out towards his head but Darrell narrowly dodged it and rammed his other fist into her side, making her gasp and almost drop her captive, but she instead stumbled back against the left wall of the studio, her eyes a bit shocked.

"You brute...!" she spat back at Darrell.

"You know, I'm really getting sick of being called that!" was the firefly's strong reply, the quote only driving him more into his actions. Instantly he spun once and threw his leg out for a hard roundhouse kick that Saya narrowly avoided, but quickly she found her back to Mei-Ling...

"Please! Get Bao away from her!" Athena cried out, Mei-Ling heeding the call and tried to grasp the little member of the Psycho team...

"I don't think so...!" Saya yelled, ducking so that Bao was just out of her reach, and took the time to try to do a leg sweep, despite carrying another person on her shoulder. Reacting, Mei-Ling jumped up slightly to avoid it, but that left her open to Saya's free elbow, and it knocked her back once her feet touched the ground.

"YAH!"

Still, she moved again, avoiding yet another attack from Darrell, Saya finding herself in the middle of the room, which found itself surrounded by the other fighters in the room. From here, Saya didn't move, taking the time to view her surroundings...

(Rock Howard and the Psycho Soldiers are guarding the door... Everyone else is on the sides... No way out... Except...)

The blond then turned her head around towards the window, where Sakura was blankly staring at her... and smirked...

(Bingo...)

Darrell and Rock, and practically everyone else in the room noticed this... and instantly Darrell raced to pick her off the moment she moved towards Sakura and the closed window, Jan and Athena shouting out, "Sakura! She's coming your way!"

Sakura, little known to everyone else, knew this fact very well... She could tell Saya's intensions by the look in her eyes...

"Move outta my way or I'll plow right through you!" the Shadowloo soldier demanded, her free fist out and glowing with her ki threateningly.

"Block her off, Sakura!" Darrell yelled at his wife, just a few step behind Saya. At first it actually seemed as if Sakura was going to stop her, for she braced herself, ready to pick Saya off... but just as Saya came within a body and a half's length of her... she looked at her eyes once again...

Those green, determined, uncaring eyes...

Just as her body began to move into an attack position, intending on throwing her ki-powered fist into Sakura...

And at that moment, Sakura knew...

_I can't do it..._

Just as Darrell cut to the left to try to dive at Saya from the side, Sakura threw her own body to her right, just avoiding Saya's attack, which instead of finding her face, it hit the glass window, shattering it on impact...

_Perfect... _was the only word that went through Saya's mind... looking back just in time to see Sakura collide with Darrell before her body began to drop from the 30 story window to the streets below...

All the other people in the room stared on in shock as Darrell's closed eyes opened, his mind confused on what just happened. He instantly shook his head and blinked a few times, recovering from his disorientation... and found Sakura on top of him, her face buried in his chest...

"Sa... kura...?" was all that came out of his mouth, just as Sakura looked up and into his eyes, hers extremely saddened...

"G... gomen na sai... I... I just couldn't... do it..." was all she could stammer... and then instantly everything came back to Darrell. Carelessly he pushed Sakura off of him and shot over to the broken window, jerking his head out and downwards just in time to realize that at the 24th story, Saya was standing on a small black jet... looking back up to him with a evil smile on her face, patting the unconscious Bao on the back with her free hand...

"Looks like I got my prize!" she shouted back to him... For a moment he didn't respond... but slowly his face grew distorted and he grew a nasty snarl on his face...

"KONO! (DAMN YOU!)" he bellowed, raising both his hands outside, growing bright in his flames. "Tadajao kanai zo! (You'll pay for this!) I swear you will!"

"Darrell!"

Just before he could launch a volley of flames down towards Saya, arms grabbed him from inside and pulled him back in, restraining him the best they could. Down below, Saya only smiled as she boarded inside the Shadowloo jet, allowing it to take off without a trace...

"NO! LET ME GO!" the firefly demanded, trying to fight off the ones who were holding him back on the wall right next to the sitting Sakura, namely Mei-Ling, Rock and Kensou. The cherry blossom looked on at the scene, unable to do or say anything to her enraged husband. All she could do was stare at him in this state... and in her mind, she couldn't stop apologizing to him.

_I'm sorry... I'm really am, Darrell... I just... couldn't..._

"You gotta stop! It's no use! She's gone!" Kensou responded, the four individuals struggling for another few moments before...

slap

...a hard hand smacked him across his left cheek, stopping him on a dime. Taking deep breaths, he looked up to find out it was Fen who smacked him back to earth.

"I'm sorry..." she said, "but I had to do that..."

For a while, no one in the studio spoke, everyone letting things sink in. Darrell then closed his eyes, the next time they opened they rested on his wife... who was still staring back at him with heavy sorrow...

"Sakura..." he whispered, the others letting go and letting him drop on his knees next to her. "Gomen... About all of this..."

"It's ok..." she sniffled, Jan standing over them both as she watched firsthand as her sensei held back her tears. She knew how badly she wanted to cry, but somehow she had the strength not to. Jan herself couldn't believe what just happened... and she wished she wasn't hurting so badly... She would've helped catch Saya along with Darrell... She really would've...

"I really wish I could've helped..." she said in a low murmur. "I wish I wasn't so stupid to fight Rock... If I would've known..."

"Jan... It's alright..." Sakura reassured, wiping the small tears that streaked down her face. "I guess... I guess I'm not cut out for this after all..."

"Now don't you say that..."

Sakura looked up in time to see Athena approach them. It was hard for her to not start grieving on losing Bao, but somehow she did. "You've done so much over the years... You've overcome so many obstacles... and this one... although it's tough now... I just know... You can get over it, Sakura."

"Yeah, Athena's right," Fen added. "Although I don't know every single accomplishment that you've did, you're without question the strongest woman in the world now... Saya might not truly understand that, but we all do, and that goes well beyond beating Kairi and having a mere trophy or title."

Sakura wordlessly stared back at the others that were now giving her support, and inside her world began to brighten... but it wasn't until Darrell gave a slow yet firm nod that she took a deep breath and, along with her husband, stood up, breaking a light smile.

"Yes... Yes, you're right..." she responded. "I have to face up to all my challenges... no matter what they are..."

"That's the warrior's spirit," Mei-Ling cheered her on. "Just like my father would've told me."

"Don't worry yourself about Saya, sensei," Jan said with a confident tone. "In due time we'll knock her back to her senses. You just wait and see."

"Saya..."

The cherry blossom then closed her eyes, reflecting on all that she did with the blond... and all that happened just a few moments ago...

Then her eyes opened, her pupils growing determined and set on the goal in front of her...

"Don't you worry," she said, her voice returning to the youthful, charismatic Sakura that everyone in the world knew and loved. "I'm going to bring you back to earth, no matter what."


	15. Azure Night

**SAGA 2/5: DESPAIR**

_**CHAPTER 15: AZURE NIGHT**_

**Fushimi, Japan: 9:15 P.M.**

In a small side street in Fushimi, a city nearby Kyoto, Mei-Ling couldn't be deeper in thought. Even as she walked, her hand was still calmly placed under her chin and her eyes closed. Hardly taking the possibility of running into (or being ran over...) by something or someone into consideration, the young martial artist kept her mind solely on her thoughts...

_(Perhaps this is a lot more critical than I initially thought... If the World Warrior champion could be deceived like she was earlier... that means that we need to be extra careful... Things can get ugly in a hurry...)_

"Mei..."

"Huh?" Mei-Ling gasped while looking to her left, seeing her best friend's face.

"You're thinking too hard, Mei. Relax, will ya?"

Mei-Ling smirked; a rare event to say the least. "I am relaxed. It's the way I think clearly."

The light-hair girl made a face. "But you've been like that even since this afternoon. I know your father says that meditation is all important and stuff, but come on..."

The oldest of the group merely shook her head. "Fen, I'm fine. Seriously."

"Well, if that's the case, I think we should figure out what we should do now. We don't have any leads now, and this splitting up idea we forged with those other fighters sure isn't helping us. We should've tagged along with them. They have better resources than we do."

Beside Fen, Rock frowned a bit. "You might be right about that... I guess now we have to keep our eyes alert for anything suspicious. It's all we can do for now."

"In the meantime, we should find a hotel to crash in," the light haired Chinese girl sighed, her eyes closed. "Not to say that I'm tired... A growing girl like me needs her beauty rest, you know."

Fen then struck a pose, as if she was a model showing off designer clothes, twirling to show off all she had. Realizing what her friend was doing, Mei-Ling gave an embarrassed smile.

"What do you think, Rock?" Fen asked the young American. "Don't I look sexy to you?"

"Um, well..."

Rock let out a small, nervous laugh while sweatdropping, causing Fen to give him a devious look in her eyes.

"'Well...?'" she repeated mockingly, leaning over Rock with a threatening manner, "Well what?"

Rock stuttered what little of a response he had, now trying not to look directly into Fen's wide eyes, finding Mei-Ling just staring away at an area down the alley...

"Hey, what's the matter, Mei-Ling?" he asked. Mei-Ling didn't respond, but it left enough time for her best friend to pop a vein in her forehead.

"Oh, don't you change the subject on me, Rock Howard! I know you like me; you just don't want to admit it!"

"Hey! I never said I didn't like you—"

"So you _do _like me, huh!?"

"Yes, but not like _that_!"

"What!? I'm not good enough for you, is that it!?"

"Ow! What're you—"

"I can't believe you! You're a jerk! You hear me?! Jerk!"

"You're crazy! Ow! Stop doing that!"

Meanwhile, Mei-Ling was once again deep in thought... However this time it was on something very different.

_(This... this sensation...)_

Suddenly, something was making her feel uneasy. Her nerves were on end, her body shook, and she was starting to sweat...

_(This dark feeling... This feeling of dread... I haven't felt anything like this before...)_

The martial artist's eyes never left its focus point, looking straight down to where the alley met the streets once again... The presence was in-between her and the street, but it wasn't so in-her-face... Still it was close...

_(Too close…)_

"You guys..." she mumbled, loud enough for Fen to stop senselessly beating Rock's head in with a pole she found lying nearby. "We're not alone here..."

"Say what?" Fen asked, holding Rock up by his black undershirt. Rock himself was knocked silly, anime swirls in his eyes and his tongue out in a silly fashion, not to mention several lumps across his skull.

"Don't you feel it? It's... almost surreal..."

Fen unconsciously dropped Rock on the ground and walked closer to Mei-Ling, who seemed frozen in place.

"What's got you all shaken up?" she asked while getting close to her friend.

It took a while for Mei-Ling to respond...

"Someone else is here, Fen... I can feel a really dark ki force nearby..."

On the contrary to what Mei-Ling was trying to get across, a mischievous smile appeared across Fen's face.

"Well, now... looks like we're on the right track," the younger girl smiled. "Let's go find him. I'm itching for some action tonight after what happened earlier today."

"Fen, please... Think about this before you do anything crazy. We've never came across anything like this before."

"Oh, don't sweat it, Mei. We can take 'em." Fen encouraged, pumping a fist. She then spun around to Rock, who was slowly recovering from the rather unnecessary ass-kicking Fen gave him, and shouted, "Hey, lazy! Get up! This isn't the time nor the place to take a nap! We've got something important here!"

Groaning, the blond sat up, rubbing his head, and responded in a low voice, "Easy for you to say... You didn't just get attacked by a wolverine..."

Getting back to his senses, Rock paused to look at the night sky. It was a clear night, the moon glowing fully in the mists of darkness. No stars were visible, and in the dim lights of this section of Fushimi, it was difficult to see the colors on the buildings surrounding him.

Then, while gazing at the roofs of the buildings, Rock saw a figure situated on the top of a building... From here, he could make out red hair on his head, a black jacket on his body with a white "C" shape on its back, and red bondage pants...

"...!"

Rock's eyes went wide as his right hand began to throb suddenly, making him let out a yelp as he held onto it. The disturbance caught both Chinese girls' attention, both quickly dashing to his side, wondering what was happening...

"Rock!" Fen cried out, kneeling to his side, "What the heck's the matter with you!? What's with that flame...?"

Rock's only response was a long, agonizing groan, his right hand now flaming with a violent blue blaze...

_My bad blood... It boils..._

--------

"Nnn...?"

The figure on top of the roods, originally staring out across the horizon the city's buildings made below the right sky, turned his attention to below his perch. Three individuals...

As he looked, his red hair shaded a portion of his face, his expression emotionless as he saw and felt the eruption of dark ki nearby...

"That power... I've noticed that power before," he said to himself. After a while, the ki dropped down to normal again, but not before a smirk appeared on the mysterious man's face.

"It appears as if I might just have a little fun tonight... I need to kill some time before another lead opens up..."

And with that, he dropped off the roof and down a good 3 stories to the cold pavement below...

--------

"Who's that!?" Fen shrieked, caught by surprise at the sudden figure that dropped down from out of nowhere, landing just a few feet away from their group. By this time, Rock was fully on his feet against Mei-Ling's wishes, and faced the man he spotted head on. Against the street light from the avenue behind him, his body remained in the confines of darkness...

"You... I know you..." Rock panted lightly, his eyes hardening with seriousness.

"You do?" Fen asked. "You actually know this creep?"

Rock nodded. "He's... Iori Yagami..."

"Yagami..." Mei-Ling repeated to herself. Surely she heard that name before... but where...?

Then it hit her... Hard.

_(So that would explain that sinking feeling! Yagami is the ancient Japanese clan that grew cursed by an ancient entity and controls deadly dark azure flames! I thought that was just legend... but those eyes... I'm not mistaken…)._

Mei-Ling just couldn't help the feelings surging through her body... and the worry showed clearly enough for anyone to see it...

Including Iori. A small smile crossed his face, and although he said nothing, the oldest of the traveling trio knew that he was smiling at her... She tried her best to get her head together, but her efforts only amused him more.

"Oh, don't try to fight it..." he said calmly. "I might not have seen you before, but by the way you're looking, it would seem that you know quite enough..."

Mei-Ling let out a low growl, bracing her tense body, just as Fen spoke to the stranger in front of her.

"Hey, freak! By the way you carry about, you must work for Shadowloo! How about you tell us where you're stationed at and I promise I won't hurt you!"

After hearing that, the smirk disappeared clearly from the red hair's mouth and replaced with an irritated scowl. "And who are you, cackling hen?"

Fen smiled, belligerent to Iori's cold expression, and answered. "Why, am I glad you asked that... I'm the supreme butt-kicker of Shanghai! The successor of Fuushi-style martial arts! I'm the very breath of the thunder that booms through the greatest of storms...!"

She then brought out a hand, making a victory peace sign, and winked at Iori.

"Xiao Fen, at your service!" she finished proudly. She then turned to Mei-Ling and whispered, "How was that? I spent most of the plane trip here thinking about a cool speech to say at a time like this... Wasn't that cool?"

Her friend just stared at her with a bewildered look before putting a hand over her face, shaking her head and sighing deeply.

"Fen..." she mumbled. "You really need to grow up..."

Fen, in response, made a face, thinking everything over as she put a hand on her chin and looked hard at the floor.

"Yeah..." she agreed... to an extent. "Perhaps the butt-kicking part was a bit off..."

"I wasn't talking about that!" Mei-Ling instantly mused, a vein starting to pop out of her head. "Geez!"

"Tch..."

The sound of teeth sucking made both of them turn their attention back to Iori, who put his hands in his pockets, his face irritated.

"Its amazing how many fools I must run into..." he mumbled. "I've had just about enough of my time wasted on listening to this... "

"Well, excuse me, but no one asked for you to pop your head in our business!" Fen shot back, not being fazed at the dark look Iori was giving her.

"That's it... I think I'll put you out of your misery now..."

"What was that?" Fen shot back, giving Iori a hot glare herself. "You really think you'll be able to just beat me so easily? Give me a little credit here..."

Iori scoffed. "Trust me, girl. You'll soon see enough... You're first. You can get whatever 'credit' you deserve in the next world...!"

Fen then heard enough. "Alright, you freak, that's enough out of you! It's time you got a taste of my fury of fists! Bring it on, jackass!"

"..._die!_"

Not wasting anymore time or words, the two charged at one another, Fen letting out a strong battle cry as she threw the first blow. Iori dodged to the side, letting her miss her attack...

"Ah!"

...and the next thing Fen knew, her back seemed to have a rough meeting with a rake. She fell to her knees from the sudden shock, holding herself up with her hands. Iori's counter attack stung badly, but it wasn't anything she couldn't take.

"Doushita? (What's wrong?)"

"Well, you did just—" Fen began to answer Iori's question, but Rock interrupted harshly.

"Fen! That's an ATTACK...!"

"Ugh!" she gasped, pushing up from the ground to let a grounded purple blaze miss her, setting up into the air. She set her sights back on her target and dropped down towards him...

"Fool!" Iori shouted, about to pick her out of the air with his anti-air Oniyaki, but, with a shout, Fen's speed increased and her sneaker rocketed into his face. The attack caught Iori off guard pretty well, blowing him back into a nearby wall. Before he could get off it, Fen was hot on the offensive again...

"Yahhh...!" she shouted before pounding Iori's chest with a multitude of quick strikes. After an unknown amount of hits due to the speed Fen was attacking, she then went on to finish it with a heavy fist to the head, but Iori ducked to the side, making her hit bricks instead. She immediately let out a howl as she recoiled her hand, shaking it from the pain. At the same time, she tried to bring her focus back on Iori... just to meet an elbow to her stomach, making her double over. The other arm then shot forwards, grabbed Fen's face, and forced her down to the ground. She yelled in protest and tried her hardest to get way somehow, but all she could do was stare at Iori's dark face through his fingers...

"Shi ne!"

A sudden flow of flames shot through his arm and a scream could barely escape from Fen's mouth before an explosion of dark purple flames engulfed her head...

"Fen!!" Mei-Ling cried out, the flames from the Kototsuki In burning out in her pupils. Fen stopped struggling as Iori smirked once again, then with a grunt threw his arm up, effortlessly tossing her body away, landing a few inches away from Mei-Ling and Rock's feet. Mei-Ling wasted no time coming to her friend's aid while Rock just kept his eyes on Iori...

_(Should've half-expected that...)_ the young man mumbled in his mind. The more he stared at Iori, the more his blood boiled...

"You started an uproar within me..." the blond said boldly, his red eyes seriously burning into Iori. "You'd better be prepared to finish it."

"Bold words... from someone with such pitiful existence," Iori returned, getting into his fighting stance. "Son of Geese Howard... I will cripple you..."

"Come on..."

"Doushita?!"

"Reppuken!"

The two shot their energy straight into the ground, the Yami Barai and the Reppuken clashing against each other, instantly exploding against one another. As the ki blew off into the wind, Rock quickly shot himself forwards, elbow out for his Hard Edge...

"Muda na!" the read head shouted, dodging the attack and countering with a hard roundhouse kick. Rock stopped just in time and ducked, letting it sail over his head, then threw his elbow out, catching Iori in the neck. He stumbled a bit and retreated a bit as Rock kept on the offensive.

--------

"Fen! Say _something _to me...! Come on...! Open your eyes!"

Mei-Ling was normally composed. Normally she would know how to handle these situations. She was preparing her whole life for situations like this, but now she couldn't feel any more powerless. Her best friend was in pain... and she couldn't think of a way to snap her out of it. She bit her lip, trying to calm down her nerves, holding her friend close to her body.

_(Come on... Let something happen...)_

A little bit of time passed... and finally a low but audible groan escaped the younger girl's mouth. Me-Ling let off a relieved sigh as Fen's eyes slowly opened up, feeling Fen's slightly tattered face.

"Mei..?" Fen's first words were; confused at what just happened.

"That was so careless of you..." the older girl scolded. It was there that Fen remembered the events that led to her brief sleep, and why her face stung... She tried to stand up, clenching her fists...

"How... dare he lay his grimy hands on my pretty face..." she growled in a cold tone. It was then clear to Mei-Ling that this Fen... was different than the lovable fool she was friends with... _This _girl was serious. Deadly serious. Her eyes lost that friendly spark, turning dark along with the expression of her face. To Mei-Ling, she looked...

Evil.

She started to stop her and talk some sense into her, but she couldn't. She couldn't formulate the words. Even if she did, Fen wouldn't be able to listen.

"He's mine," Fen grumbled. "_No one _scars my face and gets away with it!"

--------

The battle between Rock and Iori only seemed to escalate. There was barely any space in-between them, blows being traded for blows, attacks being evaded and countered... After a short clash the two broke apart, standing ready yet taking the break to reform strategy...

_(He's really relentless...) _Rock thought, running a hand through his hair. (_He's gotta have a weak point somewhere... he just doesn't seem to show any...)_

Iori kept silent, then, surprising Rock, he smirked. His right arm caught on fire and he leapt towards Rock, threatening to strike...

At first Rock began to initiate a Crack Counter... but with the boiling of his blood... he found himself attempting another move...

_(That's it! That's the opening!)_

Wasting no time, Rock gathered as much ki as she could in the short time he had into his hands, now positioned above his head...

"Raging..."

_(I knew he'd use that move...! The fool!)_

Iori's eyes went wide with anticipation, canceling his attack and bracing himself... and not a moment too soon, for a moment later, Rock let loose his vigor...

"STOOORM!!"

The American bent down to the ground, slamming his hands onto the ground, causing the air around him to blow out from beneath him, followed by an uproar of Rock's energy shooting up violently into the air. Anything not nailed down was mercilessly blasted to the heavens above...

Iori grunted at the force as he, despite being above the Raging Storm, defended himself well until it died out. As he landed, he turned to his adversary to see his back turned to him, panting slightly.

Rock didn't stand up after his attack ended for his right arm couldn't control the surge of ki throughout the move... He held onto it gingerly, trying his best to not aggravate it more, but Iori wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily... he assumed a signature stance...

"Asobi wari da...!"

Rock began to try to dodge, sensing the infamous Ya Otome attack coming, but before he could move or Iori could dash close enough to execute it, someone shot in-between the two faster than the normal person could blink... and Iori couldn't begin to stop before a hard knee shot into his face, making him stop cold and practically jerk into a standing position...

"ACHAAAA!!"

...and a powerful fist followed into his chest, blowing him clean off his feet and into a shoddy wooden door into an abandoned building, destroying the structure upon contact. As the Yagami heir fell into the darkness and the dust and wooden remains of the door rested, Rock turned around and found the cause of the interruption of his fight...

"Fen...?"

In more ways than one, it surprised him. He honestly thought she was going to be down for the count, not due to the fact that he believed she was going to be deadweight on their journey (even though he had every right to believe that, due to her loud mouth and obnoxious behavior) but due to the fact that Iori was one of the most powerful fighters in KOF. But as he looked at her, there was a steady fury in her eyes. Before he could speak, Fen closed her eyes and sighed heavily.

"Felt good letting that out..." she said to no one in particular. She then focused on Rock for a bit. "As for you, I started this fight with the intension of finishing it. Go and mind you own business. I don't need saving."

Rock blinked a little the register the message. "I wasn't saving you. I had my reasons..."

Fen waved it off and turned to engage in combat for the second time. Although her back was to him, Rock could still make out the signs of a smile on her face directed at him.

"By the way... I still think you're a jerk."

_(She's as confusing as ever...)_ Rock sighed to himself, letting her enter the empty building in which Iori was last seen. As she looked around, she began to grow familiar with her surroundings...

"What a creepy place..." she whispered to herself, observing the array of furniture that was set into disarrangement due to the flight path Iori took. The ambience of the area was incredibly gloomy and dark and by first glance, Fen couldn't quite pinpoint what this place seemed to be. Outside of the furniture, walls, and windows, outlined with purple drapes, everything was cleared out.

"Nn..." Fen let out as she began to step forward and search for Iori. "This joint sure does suit him well..."

She took one step...

Two steps...

Three...

_**BAM!!**_

Fen's breath got caught in her throat and barely let out a startled yelp at the deafening boom from behind her. Spinning around, she found out that the door had shut on its own accord... Realizing what had just happened, Fen caught herself again and scoffed.

"Oh, please... Are we stooping to lousy B-class horror movie tactics now, Iori?" she shouted out loud. "I'm not dumb! I saw The Ring 12 times! You're not going to scare me, pal!"

The Chinese girl then noticed a stairwell, abet worn out from age, heading to the second floor.

_(Well... it's not like he's going to be down here, anyways...)_

Fen took only a few moments to reach the stairs and fearlessly jog up a few of them, but suddenly she stopped.

"Oh, how contraire..." she muttered to herself. "A broken stair... No problem. I'm not falling for that stupid trick..."

She then gave the next step in front of her a firm stomp, making it break fully under the force. She then continued her trek on the next step which seemed stable enough. After skipping the broken one, she started to push off and reach the next floor... if it weren't for a sudden fast creaking sound...

(snap...)

"AH!!!"

A shrill scream shout out of Fen's mouth as her foundation suddenly collapsed, her body plummeting towards the floor below...

However, her instincts kicked in (or rather sheer luck) and her hands caught onto the edge of the broken steps she fell through.

"Ow!" she howled, finding herself handing a few feet above the debris she caused. Not only that, her legs stung with pain from the top to bottom... Straining, Fen used all her strength to pull herself back up onto the remaining steps, letting out a sigh. She then looked down to find out that the fabric to her fighting pants tore from the wood and that her legs were scraped up.

"Dammit..." she swore to herself, trying to nurse it. "I'm going to make sure to pound Iori's head in once I find out where he's hiding..."

The light-haired girl then sucked the pain up, stood firm, and reached the second floor to continue her search...

--------

"It appears as if someone is here..."

Darkness shrouded the entire room, barely showing the frames of books that lay about the area. The walls were age-torn and lacking any color at all, the bookshelves all around suffering from burns and other acts if vandalism. In the far corner of the room stood a lone figure, tall yet slim, a long dark-purple robe enveloping his body; a long brown ponytail falling behind it...

"I cannot afford for intrusions now... Its time this person finds the exit..."

--------

"I have a really bad feeling about this, Rock..."

Back outside to the alley, Rock, who was back on his feet and feeling back to normal, made a face. "Other than what we're going through now?"

Leaning on a wall in front of him, Mei-Ling nodded sheepishly. "It's a gut feeling... Maybe we should follow Fen and make sure she's ok."

Rock could plainly see the worry on Mei-Ling's face as she spoke, and had no other choice but to comply with it. "Alright... but you know how she is..."

"Yes, I know. She's a hardhead, though," Mei-Ling nodded again, "but often I'm the one who bails her out of these types of situations when she's over her head. It's one of those feelings again..."

"I see..." Rock made up his mind completely now. "Alright. Let's get her out of—"

He never finished the sentence... A few feet away a window from the building in which Fen entered shattered, startling the two fighters. They both turned to look at the disturbance to find out that someone had jumped out of the building... and Mei-Ling gasped at the realization of who it was...

"Gwoo..." a groan came from Iori's throat, hunched over from his current stunt. He wasn't in pain due to the glass, but rather from the Yamenkosougi that Fen gave him earlier... He then clothed his right hand into a fist and shot a glare at Rock and Mei-Ling, making them both stand ready to defend themselves.

"T... that girl..." Iori growled hoarsely at them. "Where is she...?"

At first Mei-Ling didn't compute the question, but once she did, her eyes went wide.

(_He never saw them...? Then that means that...)_

"Mei!" Rock found himself shouting as he realized that Mei-Ling made a break for the opening into the mysterious building...

"Stop right there!" the Yagami heir ordered, lunging at her with another 311 Shiki: Tsumagushi, but Mei-Ling sensed the attack coming. She quickly turned to face him... and jumped to intercept him with a fierce rising kick accompanied by a mighty martial arts shout, hitting square in the neck. Iori gagged on impact, eyes buggy as she finished with an overhead kick, driving him back to earth. Without even looking back to make sure he stayed down from her Dragon Fall attack, the girl bolted into the doorway and out of sight, leaving Rock behind.

_(Didn't expect that, either...), _he thought. _(Looks like these girls aren't all so bad after all...)_

"Dammit..." Iori mumbled, sitting up and coughing periodically. "This is starting to be more trouble than its worth..."

Shaking his head clear and getting his senses together again, the red-head turned his sights on Rock, this time clearly showing that he was now strictly getting down to business...

"You've caused me enough trouble... It's time to end this."

"You know what...?" Rock said while unzipping the jacket's sleeves, "That's probably the best thing you've said all night..."

--------

Meanwhile, back inside, Fen couldn't help but have the feeling that she was being watched. But, considering the dark hallway she was walking through, that was impossible. The only things around her were the multitude of doors that, as she kicked them open, leaving them to fall with a loud bang to the ground, led nowhere. After a while she let out a frustrated groan.

"Come on out, Iori!" she shouted as loud as she could. "I can tell playing games isn't your style! Besides, you're a pretty bad jokester, anyway!"

She then blinked, noticing that there was only one more door to search, located down a long stretch of hallway, long window drapes flapping in the breeze that came through the shattered glass. Once she noticed it, she let out a smirk.

"Game over, Yagami..." she whispered, making her way towards the door. Each step she took made the floorboard below her squeak under her weight, reminding her of her earlier incident. Fen then slowly tiptoes forwards, passing the first window. As she passed it the wind began to kick up from outside, lapping inside and at Fen's hair and clothes. At first it was a nice cool feeling... but a few seconds later, after reaching the second window out of three, it blew again from the first... and although she was far from it... she couldn't help shivering...

_(Hey… How'd it get so cold...?)_ she thought, wrapping herself with her arms. _(Stupid windows...)_

Still, Fen kept going... but as she got closer, the chill that ran through her got colder, almost like ice, and the feeling of an unknown pair of eyes watching her grew even more...

_(I don't like this feeling one bit... The sooner I get out of here, the better.)_

Finally she got to the door at the end of the hall and without waiting she grabbed the knob, ready to throw it open... but at the instant she touched it, something blew by her... Something she couldn't see... but felt graze her face... blowing her hair back... and it made her let out a short cry as she jumped back; away from the door.

"What the hell was THAT!?" she shrieked, holding her chest where her beating heart lay. At that one moment, her body literally froze all over, her heart stopped... she stopped breathing...

It was almost as if she was temporarily...

"W... what's... wha...?"

She didn't have a clue what to do now. She didn't know wither she should leave it alone and act that nothing happened or she should go in and find out once and for all if Iori was causing these things. Granted, she didn't know jack about the Yagami clan, unlike Mei-Ling or Rock, but she'd be darned if she was going to let Iori get away with this.

_(Hey...! That's right...!)_ she thought to herself, getting her nerve back. _(It's only that red-headed weirdo! I can take him, no matter how creepy he may seem. He might had got me going a little, but he's not going to scare me away!)_

Her confidence now at its brink, Fen wasted no time kicking the door open like she did the others behind her, the little bit of light from the hallway and windows peering into the pitch blackness...

"Alright, Iori..." she said boldly. "Time for you to come out of hiding so we can finish this."

Her eyes scanned the area, locating bookcases upon bookcases scattered around. Volumes of books lay on the floor with little care... and at first glance it seemed as if there was no human life to be seen in the room... until she spotted a lone figure standing in a corner, his black robe shielding him from the light...

"That must be you, Iori..." Fen said out loud. "You're the only person around here. What? You decided to change your clothes so that I wouldn't notice you? Well, I'm sorry to say this, but its not going to work."

The figure didn't move, but his voice did speak.

"So you're the one who has been making so much noise..."

"Wait a second... That voice... You're not... Iori..."

Before Fen could take to heart her mistake, the man turned around, revealing his face... and it made Fen's entire body lose the coloring in its skin.

"Y... y... you're... s... so... pale..." she stammered, eyes wide with the shock as she stared at the man's dark eyes and practically gray skin. He held no expression, but continued to speak.

"Someone like you does not belong here. If you won't leave on your own accord... then..."

Fen then gasped, realizing that the tall, pony-tailed man was now right in front of her face without warning...

"...I'll have to make sure you depart by other means..."

Fen didn't think from that point on. Everything just went on autopilot the moment his hand grasped onto her shoulder... and that familiar cold feeling filled her body...

"Get AWAY, freak!!"

Fen's free arm made a dist and plowed square into the man's face... but once she did... his skin immediately dematerialized into dust and his entire body crumpled to the ground, reverting to nothing more than a pile of bones...

At that moment Fen started to let out a scream, but her voice grew caught in her throat, eyes in total shock at the fact that she couldn't make a single sound...

_(I... I gotta get out of here...! I've seen enough!)_

Although she wanted to go faster, her body could only move away slowly through the paralysis of fear in her, staring square at the skeleton that lay at her sneakers... but she only took four steps before she felt someone behind her... She began to turn around, but only her head moved before she found herself frozen by the fact that the same guy she punched was not BEHIND her, his back to her...

"N... no...!" she chocked out in disbelief, her emotions running rapid.

"Time for you to rest..."

Then, an eerie whistling noise filled Fen's eardrums and a sudden wind began to blow beneath her... and what happened next was utterly unreal to her... Something white... began to rise from the floor around her... and as they popped up into view... Fen's pupils dilated...

(G... g... g... gh... gho...)

She was too scared out of her wits to even finish her thought, as about 20 or so supernatural entities surrounded her... skulls where the heads were supposed to be...

Fen's heart rose to hear throat... the energy in her body drained out, and her body just as pale as the mysterious man behind her...

"A.. ah... Aaahhaaa..."

At first it seemed as if she was laughing but it quickly changed... as her expression changed from that of a cracked lunatic to a plain terrified little girl...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

...and, for the next 15 seconds, for practically a radius of 3 square miles, nothing could be heard by a high-pitched mixture of a squeal and a scream...

--------

"Fen!!"

The scream was unmistakable to Mei-Ling, despite the fact that she never, ever heard anything like that from her friend, and it made her hasten her pace. She just reached the third and final floor to the abandoned building, and she went into a short run upon realizing that a new individual tall yet slim and wearing nothing but black, head down and eyes closed standing at the other end of the hallway. She was positive where she was at now... and stopped, feeling a deep drop in her heart...

_(This guy... is surrounded... by the vibes of death...)_

"Who... are you...?" she said out loud, her voice shaky yet as strong as it could be in this situation. "Who are you and what have you done with my friend...!?"

Slow to reaction, the pale figure lifted his head to reveal a somewhat youthful face and opened his eyes to gaze at the new young woman before him…

_(Her vigor… Such a strong fighting spirit… I recognize that…)_

"Answer me!" Mei-Ling demanded sharply.

"Are you… A member of the Shui bloodline…?" he said, his voice making Mei-Ling jump back a bit, even more so by the actual comment.

"How… how did you know that…?" she asked.

"Your vigor… I recognize it for certain now. You came from the family of legendary warriors… I've studied them throughout their history… I'm surprised I didn't recognize it sooner."

Mei-Ling didn't reply to the stranger's statement, unable to really figure him out. Warily she asked, "Who are you…? I've never seen you before…"

A little quiet swept the rundown hallway before he responded.

"I am Duo Lon," he answered. "now that I have told you… I have a request of you."

"What…?"

"I want to see for myself if the Shui bloodline has maintained its prowess throughout the ages… You have the look on a Shui… but I want you to prove it to me," he clarified, his dark eyes gazing strangely into Mei-Ling's. "If you can land three strikes on me… then I'll consider it still alive…"

Mei's eyes grew a sudden worried tone. "And if I can't…?"

Duo Lon didn't reply to the question, instead Mei-Ling suddenly felt a heavy dark presence nearby, similar to that of which she sensed Iori's presence… and grew shocked at the fact that something supernatural was surrounding Duo Lon from the walls and floors…

"W… What…?! Ghosts?!"

"Defend yourself!" his voice rang, and on cue, the volley og ghosts surrounding him hissed and charged a her. Her eyes grew wide in surprise, but quickly found herself shielding herself with her arms…

_(What…?)_ Duo Lon thought within his mind. _(Those gauntlets on her arms…)_

As he noticed the red, blue and white metal bands on Mei's arms, they started to glow a faint silver tone as the ghosts approached. Right on impact a white aura enveloped the front of Mei-Ling's body, the ghosts clashing with the winds that emerged out of nowhere. Ghastly howls filled the air as the barrier repelled Dou Lon's attackers, sending them back to sender. Once the sound died down Mei dropped her guard in amazement of what just happened, the ghosts surrounding Duo Lon all over again.

"The Wind Gauntlets…" Dou Lon said quietly. "Forged in the 15th century by Shui Fu Hao during the Japanese invasion of China… Those led him to many great victories during his lifetime… It's been said that no weapon, no spear, no sword, no cannonball, no bullet could penetrate them… It takes one with great skill to get them to work properly… Impressive."

"That's… what my father told me…" she said out loud yet her mind had a different take on it…

(To be honest… I don't have a clue how these things work myself… They just activated on their own… I think… No wonder my father wanted me to hold onto these on my journey…)

The ghosts surrounding Dou stayed at bay as he raised his right arm and with a front, swung it back down to his side. Mei-Ling stood ready again for another attack, but this time the ghosts around the man merely disappeared back into the areas in which they came just as fast as they had appeared in the first place…

"Come…" was all he followed with, bringing himself into a strange fighting stance. Mei-Ling found herself nodding strongly in compliance. Now wasting any time, she prepared herself for her first serious battle, stretching her limbs and waking up all the muscles in her body. By the time her short warm-up body, her normally relaxed and visually beautiful body now changed a bit, showing a much more toned and sleek style under her casual clothes.

"Ready…" she called, "but… if I may… I must point out that I'm still a bit scared of you and what possible abilities you have… You don't seem like a bad guy, however… but still…"

"Yet I see it in your eyes that you're determined, just like a true Shui member… I assure you, I won't critically injure you."

"Alright, then… I hope for your sake that you keep your word…"

Mei-Ling then buckled down while jumping around in her standard fighting style, a Jeet Kune Do shoot-off, focusing purely on her opponent. After a moment, she took the initiative, inching closer to a stationary Duo Lon, still trying to read him correctly. By the time there was only half a foot between the two, she decided to make her first move.

"Ya!"

Mei-Ling opened the bout off with a lightning fast palm strike to the face, Duo Lon barely having time to block the blow, then ducked back to let a roundhouse kick sail over his head. Once settled back, Duo noticed that Mei was now in another fighting stance, crouching down with her arms out, one farther than the other.

(Multi-style Kung Fu…)

"Achoo!"

Once again, the girl from Shanghai poked out with her farthest arm, driving a guarding Duo back, then swaying with the second blow before following an upwards swipe with the initial arm. The man in black had to block the final attack, but started to counter attack immediately…

"HAI!!"

…until a shrill battle cry sounded out as Mei leaped up for the same Dragon Fall kick she used on Iori. Once again it worked the way it should, connecting against Duo Lon and due for two quick hits… however, Mei grew surprised at the fact that upon contact Duo's body crumpled to dust just before her second hit could connect. As she landed, trying to figure out what happened, a rough kick rained down on her back, making her body fly forwards into the dusty carpet. It took a few moments for the hair-braided girl to get back up and face Duo Lon again, yet once she realized what happened she got her head back into it and stood strong.

"Outstanding speed you have there…" Duo Lon said. Mei-Ling focused herself again as she entered her standard stance once again.

"That's one…" she responded.

"The next two… will not be easy for you…"

Mei-Ling's dark eyes hardened in determination as she stared at the calm Duo Lon at the other end of the hall. "Trust me… I never expected them to be…"

-------

"Shi ne!"

"Tch…"

The sound of a few blows shoot through the alley…

"Ha… Moratta!"

A blue blaze of energy shot a body across the darkness of the air into a set of empty trash cans… A second later…

"Rwoah!"

"Eh…!"

"Howah!"

A clawed hand found its mark onto flesh, sharp as nails…

"Hmm… Ha… PHOWAH!"

Three quick blows, two uppercuts and one jumping spike attack…

"Not enough…! Reppuken!"

"Doushita!"

The original battle between Iori and Rock was still raging despite the absence of Mei-Ling and Fen, but Rock knew he wouldn't be able to keep his pace with the admittedly more experienced Yagami heir for much longer. He was giving him everything he got, but the events from earlier today, namely his earlier battle with Jan Kaito, as well as the accumulative damage he was taking now, made him want to end things with Iori as fast as he could.

"Rwoah!"

The blond managed to dodge yet another 311 Shiki: Tsumagushi from the red-head, which was then followed by a hard backhand towards the head. Rock sidestepped and countered with a hard roundhouse kick. Iori evaded as well and before Rock could recover fully, a hand latched onto his face, driving him hard into the brick wall that rested behind him, knocking the air out of his lungs…

"That's enough of this rubbish!" Iori shouted, noticing the position he was holding Rock in and planning on cashing in fully… Rock could sense a large amount of Iori's Orochi flames about to shoot out through Iori's sharp hands and tried to knock Iori's grip off his head, but the collision with the wall knocked some of his strength away…

The Yagami heir let out a loud growl as a column of dark azure flames began to engulf Terry Bogard's prodigy, his eyes a cold glare as he set Rock in a blaze of hellfire. A second hand grasped onto his face, completing his deadly Kin 1229 Shiki: Enou Homurakegare attack and blocking any vision on Rock's behalf (if that was even possible). The blaze grew even powerful as it shot high into the night sky, shown as a light beam from far away, tearing through Rock's body relentlessly and try as he might, Rock couldn't withstand it…

"SHI NE!!!"

And in a brief flicker or azure flames the column exploded, Iori left to see his battered foe slump up against the wall, unconscious. Letting out a grunt, Iori simply rested his sharp eyes on the son of Geese, his business with him finished.

"And let that be a lesson to you, putz!" he muttered, about to leave the dark area before he realized a familiar presence very close by. In fact, it was coming from the building he exited earlier in his search for Fen.

"I recognize that power… Just what the hell is he doing here in a place like this…?"

Just as he was starting to contemplate going in once again, another feeling went through him, faint yet great enough to get his attention.

"There it is again…"

Iori then brought his focus back onto the downed Rock before scoffing a little more.

"Better be lucky I let you live this once…" he said in a low tone before turning down the alley in direction of his newfound trial being offered to him… With that he disappeared, the white "C" shape of the moon mimicking the real one in which the moonlight struck Rock's body as he faded into the shadows…

"Think of me when you look at the moon…"

--------

_(I'm fast…? He's all over the place…!)_

Mei-Ling stood still, observing her surroundings. The narrow hallway in which she was battling Duo Lon in was very much alive, filled with images of her adversary blurring in and out of her eyes at practically the speed of light. Just when she thought she had a clear shot at him, she'd be proved wrong b hitting nothing but air. She just recently slowed down her pace, realizing that she was beginning to wear herself out and tried to focus on where and when she should strike next…

(I can't be distracted by these mind tricks…)

"Don't expect me to just let you get your mind together…!"

Unfortunately for Mei-Ling, the instant she started to close her eyes to concentrate, they shot open again at the sight of Duo Lon appearing right in her face, catching her off balance a third time for the night…

Two strikes came in quick succession to her head, then a third heavy palm strike exploded into her stomach, rendering her defenseless. She reeled from the blow, stunned just enough for Duo Lon to attack once again, only this time it wasnn't as forgiving. Dou Lon's body bent and blurred into a grotesque shape, the area that would've been his head turning a gray color tint before his whole body went back into focus and jerked his head forwards, shooting the energy right into Mei-Ling's wide open body. It slammed hard into the Shanghai girl with great force, blowing her clean off her feet and made her land hard a few feet away from Duo on the carpet face first.

"Ugh…" she moaned, slowly but surely getting back up to her feet, wincing as her body shot out in pain. It took a few moments for Mei-Ling to recover and face Duo yet again, only this time fatigue was definitely showing on her body…

_(Shoot…!)_ she thought while panting hard, clenching her fists tight. _ (Quick… Powerful… Tricky… How can I beat him if he bests me in every aspect…?)_

A few moments passed by as Mei-Ling thought on her situation, then came up with something…

(I have to get him to attack me first…)

Focusing the best she could on her new objective, the martial arts girl steadied herself and lifted her right leg up into her favorite fighting position, the crane. Duo Lon, who was standing by and waiting patiently on Mei-Ling's next move, resumed his previous tactic, blurring in and out of sight as quickly as he could. Maintaining her stance, Mei-Ling slowly backed herself up, her eyes trying to follow Duo and make sure he stayed in front of her. The two fighters stayed patient, waiting for their opportunities to strike… until Mei realized that she had her back to the staircase in which she rose from. She let out a silent noise at the realization of having no more room to retreat to and refocused her attention on her foe..

(Left… Right… Right… Left…)

He was approaching her menacingly, threatening to knock her backwards if she didn't watch herself… but still she waited in her new stance… until Duo Lon appeared right in her face… and let her instincts flow.

"Yah, yah, yah, yah…!" she yelled out, kicking out fiercely 4 times, the first one going high and breaking Duo Lon's warps and forcing him to block the kick, then three somewhat slower low kicks to the legs, Mei's opponent blocking the first two before anticipating the last one to follow suit. His body disintegrated once more and Mei-Ling saw it coming. Duo reappeared above her with the same spinning kick that he used before to counter Mei's first blow, but at the same time Mei spun after her forth Rapids kick, faced Duo Lon in her neutral stance and put her arms up defensively. The plan worked out for Duo Long fell right into a counter attack of Mei's own, the Dragon Counter, catching his attack and returning it with a massive uppercut, her Sky Blaze.

_(Two…)_ she counted, watching Duo practically come up to within a few millimeters of the ceiling before air recovering and landing safely on the floor.

"Very impressive…" she was awarded with, "and by the way… The name in which the Shui granted you with…?"

"Um… Mei-Ling…" she answered, suddenly relaxing and stepping in her stance. "I must say… this is quite a thrill… I never had a fight like this before… even against Fen… my spirit… It feels very much alive right now…"

"Hmm… Yes, that's it… Now do you think its time to test the extents of your prowess…?"

Mei-Ling nodded. "Yes. Give me all you got."

"If that's what you wish, then I'll comply…"

Right at the end of the sentence, Duo Lon's body started to glow white once again, only thie time, Mei knew it was different. For a brief second, Mei was sure she saw the rush of ghosts run from the floor around him and then back up to his head before disappearing through the ceiling…

_(W… what type of technique is he using now…?)_ she thought cautiously, switching into her Tiger stance in which she used earlier to try to figure him out once again…

"…! AH!!!"

About half a second later, she got blown straight out of it.

She never saw him move… or even flinch from his position, but the attack, _whatever _it was, hit her as clean as any hit could've ever did… and unfortunately Duo Lon wasn't finished by a long shot. Just before Mei-Ling could recover from the attack, another blow negated the process, then practically two more at once… then three, one coming from behind…

They just kept coming and coming, each one connecting fiercely onto Mei's hapless body, unable to react to one hit before another 3 or so rained down on her. In the time span of a person blinking, Duo lon managed to lock Mei-Ling into a deadly, inescapable string of attacks, the air rich with the sounds of blows landing, swift movement up and down the halls and the harsh cries of pain from Mei-Ling's mouth…

Then finally, after an untold amount of blows, a final one punished her backside, knocking her forwards to collapse onto the floor in a bruised heap, only this time she wasn't moving at all…

"It takes only a second… even less… for an enemy to capitalize off even the littlest of one's openings…" came the voice of Duo Lon, his body finally reverting back to normal as he appeared a few inches from the downed Shui. He then paused, realizing that Mei-Ling wasn't moving, and added, "if you wish to quit now, I'd understand it…"

At first quiet ran through the air, no response from Mei-Ling, then, mildly surprising Duo Lon, Mei-Ling's body shifted, planting a hand shakily on the ground for balance… As she tried to raise her beaten up self up off the ground, totally hating the stale taste that came from the old dust in her mouth, Mei-Ling gasped desperately for air. Every part of her body stung and she knew if she took another shot like that she'd be not getting up again. Despite the odds and probably better judgment of her mind, Mei managed to stand, yet not without much difficulty, wobbling a little before leaning up against the ruined wall to her left.

"A… and let my family's… name be tarnished like that…?" she heaved, her eyes growing the fire that Duo Lon noticed earlier in the fight. "Never…"

Both knew she didn't have much left to work on, but Mei figured it was enough…

"I'm going to overcome you…" she declared, straining herself to brush off the wall and stand on her own accord, "No matter what I won't quit until I clear your challenge… I'll do it… no matter what…"

Just then Mei-Ling let out a light gasp, feeling her legs give out beneath her as her body against the will of her mind, and found herself on her hands and knees… Once again she forced herself to stand up, yet this time, surprising her greatly, Duo Lon came up close to her to help her up, wearing a rather faint smirk on his face.

"There's no need to push yourself anymore, Mei-Ling…" he responded with. "I was testing your spirit more so than your ability… You're already just proven your girth to me…"

The response made her blink in a confused manner. "Huh? What do you mean…?"

"For as long as I studied the history of Asia, I think I can tell a Shui when I see it. The spirit is unmistakable. It goes well beyond strength, but also into pride, will, skill, determination… All those qualities combine to make up a Shui family member. You might not realize it yourself, but you have a lot more of all those things in you than you think you do."

For a while, Mei-Ling just stared back at Duo Lon through her weariness, _still _unable to figure this mysterious man out. He was so enigmatic to the point that the only decisive thing she knew about him was his name, yet he seemed to know everything about her and her family history… almost to the extent of her father. On that note…

"I… need to know more…" she spoke lightly, finding the energy to break away from Duo Lon and stand on her own. Oddly, she didn't feel the original fear around the controller of ghosts that she did earlier, especially when touching him to stand up a second ago. "What are you here…? Who are you exactly…? I… just seem lost about the things that happened recently…"

Duo Lon stared back at her for a moment before responding.

"I'll tell you all you wish to know, but first… your friends…"

Mei-Ling suddenly gasped as she remembered the others in her trope. Before she could do anything, Duo pointed over her should, making her turn around to find her best friend Fen on the ground, passed out in the front of the far doorway. As she approached her, Mei asked, "What happened to her…?"

"She had… quite a scare…" the tall man explained while coming over to the girl's side. "Apparently she's deathly scared of ghosts…"

Mei made a face as she kneeled down and held her friend by the head, staring straight at Fen's closed eyes.

"Once again I have to come save you from your shenanigans…" she muttered flatly.

"The other one, however, will need some time to rest," Dou Lon said afterwards. "The fight with Iori… it must have taken a lot out of him…"

"Rock…!? Oh, no… I did leave him out there with that psycho, didn't I? I can't believe that I was foolish enough to—"

"Mei-Ling," Duo Lon interrupted, drawing her attention back to him. "You can't be in two places at once. You don't have to do everything, and plus you needed to be where you were needed the most at the moment. Rock was aware of the predicament the moment he launched his first attack. He'll be fine, I assure you. He just needs to take it easy for a while…"

Mei-Ling closed her eyes and sighed for a moment before standing up, somehow managing to carry Fen by the arm over her shoulder, and ask, "If you don't mind… I'll need your help getting back to our hotel…"

"…alright. And there, I'll inform you on some things that you'll most certainly will take notice of…"

--------

**Kobe, Japan: 9:45 P.M.**

"How's she doing...?"

In a hotel room in the city of Kobe, the sound of a door closing could be heard in a hotel room on the 8th floor. Just coming out of a bedroom inside was the silver-hair N.E.S.T.S. rebel, K, who's expression was more or less indifferent despite the situation at hand. In front of him stood Benimaru, hands in his pant pockets. Ever since their raid on Shadowloo's base the other night they hid out in Kobe, waiting on Kula to recover from her complications...

"She's about..." K answered, looking at Benimaru through the side of his sunglasses.

"I take it she's back to normal, then, by the way you're saying that."

K didn't respond automatically, instead walking forwards some and away from the door.

"If you want to go see her yourself, then go ahead," was all he said while vanishing into another room. Benimaru just watched him go and once he was out of sight, he turned towards the bedroom door and opened it...

"Kula?"

The room was relatively small and only lit by the small lamp on the nightstand next to the bed. The moon did shine a bit over the buildings outside, but it was hardly noticeable. The one thing that was noticeable was the young girl that was resting under the bed sheets.

"Looks like she's doing just fine..." Benimaru noted, standing directly to Kula's bedside. At the moment Kula's eyes were peacefully closed as she rested, her once blonde hair now at its 'natural' ice blue and even sparkling in the moonlight. The sight caused Benimaru to smirk. For somewhat of a kid, she did have a pretty face...

"nnn..."

A little startled at the sudden soft noise Benimaru immediately took a step back as Kula began to stir, her soft eyes slowly opening up and meeting her new surroundings. Letting out a sigh, Kula sat up while rubbing her eyes.

"Ah. Kula..." Benimaru said softly, welcoming her back to consciousness. "Good to see you up."

A little bewildered, the young girl blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't seeing things, then, as she found out that she was safe, a small smile crossed her face.

"Oh... Benimaru... It's you..." her youthful voice responded, relieved at the fact that she wasn't being help prisoner anymore. "You guys... rescued me...?"

Benimaru nodded his head while putting his hands on his hips. "No easy feat, but nothing we couldn't handle..."

Kula sighed once again. "I'm so glad I'm out of that creepy place... It was horrible in there... They made me so weak... I couldn't do anything..."

"Do you have any idea who those people were...? The people we fought against?"

In response to Benimaru's question, the now crystal-haired girl shook her head solemnly. "I don't know... but... they sure weren't nice at all."

"K wouldn't tell us what happened to you all... and considering that and the way he is, I doubt he even will, so... do you think you can fill us in. With all we had to go through that night, it must have been something serious."

"I... don't... remember a lot..." Kula admitted, now sitting up fully on her rest-bed, frowning as she recalled the events that lead to her capture. "We were coming home from a day out and we... These people in black... came out of nowhere and attacked us out of the blue. I remember trying to help K fight them off, but... next thing I knew I was being dragged off as they swarmed him..."

Benimaru fell silent for a while, finally understanding K's attitude (well... at least part of the extra coldness)

"...what about Diana, Foxy and... um... 'Candy'?"

Kula's frown grew even bigger as she tried to come up with any information that she could… "I don't know… All I know is… is that I did overhear some of those guys talking to one another… about separating me from them… That's all I know…"

At this time, Benimaru sat on the edge of Kula's bed, comforting her the best way that he could. Even as he did so, his mind was also fixed on figuring these soldiers out.

_(Whoever these people are… one thing's for sure; they want out special powers, no questions asked. Even outside of KOF, stuff like this never seems to stop popping up. I'm not even sure that these guys might actually be a resurrected N.E.S.T.S. or not…)_

--------

"So, Kyo-sensei, what are we going to do from here?"

Shingo was obviously awaiting the details on everything happening around him. He just knew that somehow the Kusanagi heir had some sort of plan for such an occasion. It was the matter of figuring him out. Out in the hotel room's living room, the two sat, Shingo to the side and Kyo lounging over the couch and watching some sports on the TV; his jacket hanging on the entrance door's hook's as well as his shoes. Kyo's eyes were fairly relaxed and, to Shingo, it seemed he barely heard him, prompting him to ask again.

"Kyo-sensei…?"

This time Kyo heard him, his eyes lazily turning to his student.

"Yeah, Shingo…?"

"Um… I was wondering if you had any clue as to what we're going to do from here."

A sigh emitted from the Kusanagi heir, stretching out a little bit as he replied. "Not a clue… K is the guy that knows what's going on here apparently, and basically I quit trying to get details out of him long ago. If there's anything else he needs us for, you'd better believe that he'll say something about it. Until then I'm not sweating it…"

Shingo mad a face at the reply, but deep down he knew that it was torture to his egger mind. It was a definite letdown but he couldn't say that he didn't expect such an answer considering whom he was traveling with… With that he sat back down into his chair, deciding that it;d be best to keep his silence and follow the action on the television. Just as he began to focus on the close ballgame, his eyes caught movement across the back of Kyo's couch. Upon further clarity on his eyes, Shingo found it out to be K, hands in pockets, who seemed to be just roaming around the hotel room. Just as he began to ask him something, K's body began to fade out of sight as he vanished into the second small dark hallway, not sparing not even a single breath on him.

_(Figures…) _he said to himself inside his mind.

"Hey… Shingo…"

Shingo immediately jumped at the call of his name from Kyo. He tuned his full attention onto his master and obediently said, "Yes, sensei?"

Kyo, on the other hand, was still looking squarely at the TV as he completed his message. "Chill out will you…? There's no need to be snooping around in business you don't need to head yourself into…"

"Oh… alright."

However, as Shingo returned to relaxing himself, he failed to notice the slight bead of sweat over Kyo's forehead. For some odd reason he began to feel uneasy at a sudden vibe he was feeling. Not only was it hostile but it was also nearby… almost as if it was coming from within the very building they were hiding out in… A sudden pinch of dread fell over him, and deep inside he couldn't help saying this to himself…

_(That better not be who I think it is…)_

---------

Back in Kula's room, Kula was slowly getting over her predicament, calming herself down with Benimaru's help. To her, this was the first time she had been separated from her guardians Diana and Foxy as well as her… "pet" robot look-alike Candy and it showed. Normally the girl had a soft friendliness vibe surrounding her, but now her atmosphere was just as cold as the ice particles that circled around her body. She sat on the edge of her bed, Benimaru realizing that the young girl was dressed in the hotel-provided nightgown.

"I just hope they're alright…" she said quietly. "I don't have a clue as to what to do right now…"

"Don't worry, Kula… I'm not too sure at the moment what's going to happen next, but rest assured we're going to figure out what's going on here and find Diana and the others."

Kula then sighed, whisking her head back a bit while closing her eyes. Benimaru then noticed that her hair, originally a ice blue color, began to morph and change shade from that to a light blond shade. Also, the little ice sparkles surrounding her body now vanished… When her eyes opened up again and aimed their focus on Benimaru, they weren't a reddish tint anymore, but now a regular brown.

"Ever since N.E.S.T.S. went down K', Maxima, Diana and I have been on the run from bad guys like this… If you're here with us… does that mean you're on the run too?"

The question made the guy pause a little before shaking his head. "I wouldn't say that… Just think of us as a little bit of extra help for you guys…"

_(Although, that does make me think. Where the hell is Maxima at? I never see K without him… He's practically the only guy he trusts, and no matter how good these thugs are they couldn't be able to take K', Kula AND him down at the same time…)_

Just then, a shrill ring of the doorbell made him cut off his thoughts while startling a recovering Kula.

"Room service perhaps…?" the bishamon asked no one in particular. He then turned back to Kula and said, I'll go check it out. You should probably lie back down…"

However, the girl cut him off. "Uh-uh. I'll be just fine. Kula's bored anyways and she wants a snack…"

The quote made Benimaru smirk. He did hear that the procedure that N.E.S.T.S. performed upon Kula's body left her mind in a premature state… so her acting in such a way was something she'd just have to deal with… With that he stood up and helped Kula up off her bed before escorting her out…

--------

At the sound of the bell, Kyo's entire body cringed. As Shingo found out, he suddenly sat up on the verge of standing up fully, and, making the younger fighter blink, made an unusual request.

"Shingo… Could you get that…?"

"Uh… yeah, sure… I guess…"

Unfortunately there would be no need to. Almost on cue, something began slashing through the hotel door in a wild fury, almost too fast to be seen by the regular human eye, startling the two in the room. In a few seconds flat the once solid door was hacked to pieces and crumpled at the base of the floor, leaving a certain someone to stare at a single individual; one that was possibly more dangerous than Iori Yagami, Goentiz, Igniz and Orochi combined.

"KUSANAGI KYO!!!!"

A blur shot from the front doorway, Shingo barely able to see Kyo's eyes widen before he was blasted off his feet, landing back on the couch. From here, Shingo could clearly make out the person attacking his teacher (the best he could through his shocked state). It was a brown-haired young girl wearing traditional samurai battle attire and with great reason; Kyo was trying his hardest to prevent a katana blade from butchering his neck.

This just happened to be the same instant that the bedroom door behind the living room opened and exposed Benimaru and Kula, both due to see what was the cause of the doorbell ringing. Instantly their eyes were able to pick up the scene in front of them; the door torn to shreds and an unknown assailant struggling to let her sharp sword have a nice welcome place with the Kusanagi's vital points…

"Oh…!!" Kula yelped, eyes wide and her hands covering her mouth sharply. Benimaru was about to step in himself and put a stop to the sudden fight… until he recognized the attire and hairstyle the teen was sporting at the moment…

_(Wait… That's…)_

Just then Kyo grunted loudly as he adjusted his leg and kicked the girl of his body, making her crash into the TV set abruptly, stunning her slightly. Not letting her try to get her second wind he rose to his feet and prepared to finish things before they could start up seriously…

"That's it!" he shouted, clenching a flare in his right hand. "I've had just about enough of you! Kurae…! (Eat…!)"

"What the hell's going on out here!?"

The new voice came from the right of the room, K reappearing in the living room just in time to see a crimson wave of flames engulf a good corner of the room. Shingo, being so close to this action, had to jump behind the chair he originally sat in to avoid being toasted by one of Kyo's signature moves, the Orochi Nagi. Luckily for the mysterious girl, she was able to grab her sword and shield herself (and the TV behind her totally out of coincidence) from the powerful attack, yet the blaze managed to knock her grip from the hilt, making it fly all the way to the other side of the door in which she came and impale the wall with its blade end.

Now disarmed, the attacker grunted loudly, but stopped her sneak attack on Kyo, quickly realizing that this wasn't going to go the way she wanted to. Once Kyo landed and noticed the pause, he struck her a hardened glare.

"Of all the dumbass stunts, Tsuki… this is by far the dumbest of them all!" he said in a warning tone. "What the hell's the matter with you this time?"

"Tch! This time…? THIS TIME!?" her voice shot back, filled with loads of emotion to match her expression. "You want to know why I'm trying to kill you? You should know! I knew it was a bad idea to let her go to you by herself! She's—"

"Tsuki…?" K interrupted, coming closer so he could see the new person that he so didn't want to be bothered with at the moment. "Just what I need… Kyo, you know this bitch?"

"What did you call me?!" the brown-haired samurai girl immediately mused. Having never seen him before in her life, she grew the impulse to strike those words right back at him. "Say it again! I dare you to!"

Totally undaunted, the rebel from N.E.S.T.S. immediately reiterated in a deliberately slow manner, "Alright. Kyo… Do… you… know… this… bitch?"

Half a second later, K's eyes twitched at the sight of a small sharp object flying straight between his eyes with deadly precision. The blade, or rather, dagger would've nailed him right on his forehead…if he didn't duck it… and obviously, he wasn't about to take it lying down. Just as the dagger would've hit his body, it vanished once again, taking the Tsuki by surprise. Next thing she knew, K was right in her face, grabbed her before she could react to pull her forcibly towards himself then shot a hard elbow deep into the back of her neck, sending her face first into the carpet. Just as he started to add more to his counter attack, Kyo laid a hand onto his shoulder to make him stop.

"Chill, dude… I got this…"

K gave Kyo a cold start for a long while but eventually he eased off and backed away from the downed girl. By the time she looked up to find him, he was already gone back to the area from which he came…

"Damn that guy…" she muttered under her breath. "I just met him and already he gets my blood boiling…"

"Miss Keiko…?"

"Uh?" the girl blinked, looking to her side to see Shingo coming out from his soft spot behind the couch.

"What are you doing here?" he asked innocently, beginning to brush out the little embers that still were scattered about the corner of the room from Kyo's Orochi Nagi

"Here's a better question…" Kyo interjected. "How did you find us here… and why are you acting like such a lunatic again…?"

"Tch… First of all you couldn't get away from me if you tried, Kyo," Keiko said strongly, now standing up fully and brushing her clothes off. "Seriously… However…"

Suddenly her expression turned furlong and just then Kyo realized something… Only one Tsuki sister was here right now…

"Emi…" he said quietly, yet loud enough for Benimaru to hear him from behind the couch.

"What was that?" the bishamon asked while coming closer to his friend. Kyo turned his head to look at Benimaru with a worried expression and repeated himself.

"Emi…" he then turned to Keiko and asked, "She's not with you, is she…?"

Keiko pouted a bit. "If she was I'd have no business dealing with you right now… She was supposed to meet you along with Shingo two days ago at that restaurant back in Shinjuku yet when I called her there was no answer… I then tried to get in contact with you but I didn't get anything on your end either."

"No way… I always have my phone on in case Yuki calls me while I'm in Japan…" Kyo denied. "I never got a call from Emi…"

"Bullshit, Kyo! She must've…!"

"Look for yourself…"

Kyo wasted no time reaching into his jean pocket to get his newly purchased cell phone and flipped it open to show the younger of the Tsukis his latest messages and calls… As her eyes scrolled down the list, she grew shocked at the fact that he was telling the truth… and that Kyo's last call was from three days ago by, of course, Shingo himself. Not even her own phone call was on the list…

"That's just impossible…" she muttered. "Then where _is _Emi, then!?"

"Excuse me… but Kula want's to ask a question," the other girl of the group interrupted, making everyone in the group stare at her. "This Emi… Just what is she to you, Kyo?"

"…she's my second student… along with… Shingo…" he began, "She's still got a ways to go but she's definitely… a girl with some spunk underneath he—"

Just then he was struck with a sudden realization… making him close his eyes tight and shake his head. "No… They couldn't…"

The others (absent to Keiko) began to piece things together quickly, yet Kula was the one who said it vocally.

"You don't suppose those bad guys… did the same thing to her as they did with me…?"

And just like that, the renegade group's purpose in figuring out just what was going on in the world around them was intensified greatly…

"Those smartasses… They think they got all the chips together behind our backs, huh? Alright…" Kyo mumbled, his right fist beginning to erupt in flames. "_Now _it's gotten personal…"

--------

**Skies above Kamaoka, Japan: 10:23 P.M.**

"That's not nearly hard enough! Come on! Push it!"

"HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!"

Fists flew and collided with each other. Knees struck knees with never-ending force and determination. The Kanzuki training room was filled with vigor never before witnessed before from its owner, the blond known as Karin. At the moment she never felt so focused in her life, and right now that fact was really getting on her nerves... not because of the obvious...

It was because of her training partner...

"And you call yourself a world champion?" she shouted out as an open palm struck Sakura in the face. "On my best day I could finish you in a second!"

Sakura slid back sharply at the blow, maintaining a defensive stance that was quickly put to the test as Karin moved in close with a barrage of palms and fists, the two moving swiftly around the entire area. On the side stood Kaoru, who had her arms crossed and observing every little move with little emotion on her face. Not too far from here was Batsu, crouching down and watching the bout as well...

"Talk about being over your head..." he muttered loud enough for Kaoru to hear. "It's almost too much what we're dealing with."

"Yeah..." was the only response the tanned girl gave, just as a loud thud rang through the air.

Sakura had just buckled down, her arm up and blocking a heavy fist from Karin. She then threw it off and countered with her Shouoken, but Karin was quick to counter with her strong Yasha Counter... Just before the blond could strike again, Sakura canceled and spun away from the attack, striking a hard kick to Karin's side, making her stumble away.

"Better..." the older girl said, recovering from the blow.

Sakura then stood up and sighed. "Nice workout... but we gotta keep pushing the envelope. It's the only way we're going to win."

"You don't have to tell me twice, Sakura. I've been fighting just as long as you have, and I must say, that wasn't much of your effort, was it?"

Sakura simply crossed her arms and shook her head.

"What's the matter, huh?" Karin asked, a little annoyed at that fact. "You know better than to do that against me. I take quick offense to that."

"Sorry... I've just been a little distracted about what happened earlier today," she admitted regretfully. "Sure, I'm getting over it little by little... I'm just trying to get it all out."

"Oh... Well, in that case I understand," the owner of the Breaker's plane replied. "If that's the case, then I guess we should hang it up and talk it over...?"

Sakura hastily shook her head. "No, Karin. This is the best way for me to bring Saya back. If I prepare myself for that time we meet again now, both through my mind and body, then I can get this over the hump for good. I can't afford to get soft now..."

"Yeah, that's a good idea..." Karin then went back into her stance, Sakura following suit. Just before the two could go at it again, the door to the room opened up and the sounds of someone running to the small group could be heard. Sakura turned around, knowing that only one person had such a pace.

"Sakura...! Sakura...!" came the voice of Jan Kaito, stopping short of her mentor by a few inches.

"Hey, Jan... What's up?" the cherry blossom girl replied, putting her hands on her hips.

"I... I thought I should tell you..." she panted. By the way she was sounding, she must have ran all the way from the other side of the jet. "I saw Darrell heading to your room... and... well... he didn't seem all too ecstatic to see me... He just passed me by without saying anything. He seemed depressed..."

"Huh...?"

"Well, then... It seems that he still hasn't totally gotten over what happened earlier..." Batsu commented. "You know how he gets... 500 yen says he's holding in his true feelings about all of this... and 250 more says he's still pissed about it."

The others in the room except for Jan nodded.

"It is the second time something like this happened within a period of a week..." Kaoru noted, arms crossed. "Both times he was so sure he could get things to turn out differently... We've all been screwed recently, but I doubt any of us are taking it as hard as he is..."

"Yeah, you're right..." Sakura sighed. "Perhaps I should talk to him..."

"You do that," Karin replied. "The rest of us will keep the pace in case you come back. If you don't, I'll understand..."

Sakura stared at her rival and friend for a while and then nodded. "Thanks... and thank you, too, Jan."

"No problem, sensei..." her student smiled. With that, Sakura turned away from the group and started to head to the bedroom area...

--------

knock, knock

"Darrell...? You there...?"

"...yeah..."

"Well… Can I come in…?"

"…the door's open, Sakura."

"Oh…"

(slam)

"…"

"…"

The dark bedroom sat with an uncomfortable quiet for a while after the cherry blossom's entrance, the black, star-filled sky whizzing by outside the single window of the room. Initially Sakura just stared at her husband as he sat silently on the bed of their shared living quarters then she sighed, dropping her head as well. Apparently training just wasn't going to get Saya off either of their minds at all…

"I don't get it..." Sakura mumbled out her question. "She's my student... Why does it hurt you so much?"

"I wish I knew myself..." Darrell muttered. "It... I just felt something snap Saya revealed her true color and did all those things to you. I… it just felt so surreal coming from her. I'd never expect her to be like that in the inside..."

The cherry blossom didn't respond to her husband's analysis of her student, letting him go on.

"I don't care who young she is. If she's truly working under Shadowloo for all this time, then… I really can't forgive her for this... Nn...?"

Darrell then turned to find Sakura sitting next to him on their bed, the world warrior champion also looking at the socks both her and her husband were wearing... her eyes unable to really hide the sorrow inside...

"Somehow... taking what just happened... and how Shadowloo operates... I have a feeling everything isn't so black and white..." she said quietly. "There must be a reason as to why Saya is on that side... No one other than the obscenely corrupt or just plain crazy willingly work for Shadowloo... Whoever this... Raven is... she beginning to have to world hanging on a string... Doing all of these horrible things to people... Making them go ballistic... Kidnapping... Resurrecting old threats... Forcing them to work for a notorious crime syndicate... What gets me... is how it's going about... If this was Bison we were worrying about... he'd be a lot more direct... He'd attack his targets head on... instead of causing all of these distractions... He wouldn't be so well hidden..."

Darrell made a noise to confirm.

"This new leader is a lot smarter... and all these tactics are getting to everybody... She hit a critical wound inside me by using Saya... She brought out that dark anger that you try your best to keep under control... Kaoru's physically assaulted by Vega... And they have Chun-Li and Karin stressing out a lot... Akira feels as if Daigo might be involved as well... Everyone else is impacted by all this in one way or another... If we're going to be successful... we're going to have to keep a clear mind on this..."

Sakura took a pause as her right foot began to run a circle on the burgundy carpet, using the big toe to trace it...

"Human emotions are pretty fragile... We might not understand them all the way... but we all know that if we let them run wild... the results can be devastating..."

At this point, Darrell looked over to his wife, noticing that Sakura's expression was brightening up some, her mouth slightly curving into a light smile.

"But if we can keep those in check... then everything becomes a lot easier to bare..." she ended, looking to her right in time to see Darrell break a smirk at her.

"Sometimes... I wonder where you get all these quotes from..." he said playfully. Sakura giggled.

"You must think I get these things from the Tamagawa school psychologist..." she replied, laughing a bit as Darrell closed his eyes for a bit, letting them open again. Darrell then looked towards the opposite wall, catching the full moon that shone over the clouds and through the plane's window, the only light in the room...

"I just hate knowing that things will most likely get worse..." he sighed. "You know how bad I am under stress..."

Unknown to him, Sakura nodded behind him.

"It's just something that I have to work on..."

A few seconds passed...

"That's... something _we_ can work on..."

Then, as the flamethrower turned back to face the cherry blossom, he found out that her lips connected with his... Sakura adjusting herself so that she could be more comfortable in this position... For a while the two stayed this way, the married couple looking each other deeply into each other's eyes as they shared their first "real" kiss in a long while... As the moment dragged on, Sakura's hands found their way on Darrell's shoulders and Darrell's on Sakura's back... and for a few precious minutes, the two forgot about Shadowloo and their other problems...

...all until they both broke it...

Yet they still held onto each other, letting those precious feelings sink into each other's minds and bodies... They then simultaneously looked out the airplane window, enjoying the moonlight and the beautiful dark sky... Although it wasn't said vocally, they knew what they had to do...

"We'll do it for Saya..."

--------

"Hmm…."

Darkness enveloped the room, the only light once again shining from a single TV monitor… It was an atmosphere that Raven had been negotiating with for a while now and she felt right at home with it. The light from the monitor shone upon her flawless face in an odd greed shade, the dark pupils in her eyes reflecting the visions that kept replaying rudely upon the TV over… and over… and over again… all while she held a smile on her face…

"For Saya – Saya – We'll do it for Saya… - for Saya – Saya…"

For a long while, Raven simply stared at the two individuals, the event unfolding in front of her obviously recorded previously… yet, it wasn't until now that she figured out just why she was doing it. Just then, her eyes sparkled as her expression changed from silent initiative to evil intention…

"So… they think they'd be about to make a difference… Well then… I know just the person to test their vows… By the time he's done with them, they'll be reduced to nothing… Delusional fools… "Leo" shall be paying you a visit… really soon…"

And at the end of her sentence, the screen flickered even more so than before any of it's many repeats, then pure white snow disturbance… then… a sudden shock that ran throughout the circuits of the tube…

…then darkness…


End file.
